FC Barcelona have renewed their partnership with rising Ghanaian forward Abdul Aziz Issah, confirming a fresh loan agreement that will see the teenager remain with Barcelona Atletic until the end of the 2025/26 season.

The move marks a significant U-turn by the Catalan giants, who had initially opted against triggering the purchase clause in Issah’s initial loan deal from Dreams FC following a quiet debut season.

Despite making just two appearances for the club in 2024/25, the 19-year-old forward has now been handed a rare second chance in Spain, with Barcelona Atletic betting on his long-term development rather than his recent statistics.

Issah joined Barcelona Atletic last summer on the back of a breakout campaign in the 2023/24 CAF Confederation Cup with Ghanaian side Dreams FC. The young attacker impressed on the continental stage, scoring four goals and providing two assists in ten appearances. His stunning goal from distance against Angola’s Académica do Lobito earned a nomination for CAF’s Goal of the Year and caught the attention of several scouts across Europe.

That continental form earned him a move to Barcelona’s reserve team, where he was initially expected to be integrated into the youth-centric project under coach Rafa Márquez. However, after a promising pre-season, Issah struggled for competitive minutes in a team stacked with attacking prospects, leading to speculation about an early return to Ghana.

Barcelona eventually declined the initial option to make the loan permanent, and Issah was set to rejoin Dreams FC ahead of the 2025 Ghana Premier League campaign. But renewed negotiations between the two clubs, led by Barcelona’s technical director José Ramón Alexanko and Dreams FC’s sporting leadership, produced a revised deal without a purchase obligation, giving both sides flexibility moving forward.

While Issah’s club minutes have been limited, his performances on the international stage may have helped revive Barcelona’s interest. He played a starring role for Ghana’s U20 team at the 2025 Africa U20 Cup of Nations, scoring a key goal against Egypt in the quarter-finals and earning a Man of the Match performance earlier in the group stage. That consistency earned him a call-up to the senior Black Stars squad for the Unity Cup in May, where he made his full international debut.

Barcelona officials are believed to be encouraged by his continued growth under national team coaches and have agreed to reintegrate him into the Atletic squad with a focus on development, not immediate impact.

The Ghanaian club, which has seen several of its top talents move to Europe in recent years, is reportedly satisfied with the new terms, which allow Issah to gain more experience abroad while remaining under their long-term control. Should he return after his second stint in Spain, he would do so with far more seasoning.

Barcelona Atletic, meanwhile, are hoping that the second spell brings the best out of a player they once identified as a top prospect from West Africa.