Who is Barcelona’s Fermin Lopez? And why do Chelsea need another attacking midfielder?
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6578633/2025/08/27/barcelona-Chelsea-fermin-lopez-transfer-profile/
Death, taxes, and Chelsea showing interest in young attacking players.
On Tuesday, we reported that Chelsea were evaluating the possibility of a move for Barcelona’s Fermin Lopez. The 22-year-old Spain international plays as an attacking midfielder or winger, so he would be adding to an already stacked department for the Premier League side.
So what is Fermin’s story? Would Barca sell him? And would his signing actually make any sense for Chelsea? The Athletic’s Pol Ballus, Cerys Jones and Thom Harris explain.
Who is Fermin?
Fermin is a product of Barcelona’s renowned talent factory, La Masia. He joined the academy aged 13 from Real Betis and this is his ninth season playing for the Catalan club.
He was not born in Catalonia, however, but in El Campillo, near Huelva in southern Spain, and his Barca story is an unusual one. He was not always destined for greatness, but instead experienced a late growth spurt. In 2022, he was loaned to Spanish third-tier side Linares, as he did not make the cut for Barca Atletic, the club’s ‘B’ team.
Fermin enjoyed an outstanding season with the Andalusian team, registering 16 goal contributions in the league (12 goals and four assists), but the following summer, his future at Barca was thrown into uncertainty again, with the midfielder receiving multiple offers from clubs in Spain’s second division.
That summer of 2023 changed his path completely. The Barca manager at the time, Xavi, called Fermin up to his depleted first-team squad in pre-season, with lots of senior players away with their national teams. Fermin made such a positive impression that Xavi stopped him from leaving, and he travelled on the first-team’s tour of the United States that summer. His breakout performance came in a Clasico in Arlington, Texas, when he scored a brilliant goal against Real Madrid (below).
He did not just stay put with the first team, but became a hugely valuable member of Barca’s squad rotation. He was called up for Spain (he has two caps for his nation), helped them win the 2024 European Championship, and then starred as Spain’s under-23s won the gold medal at the Paris Olympics, with Fermin named player of the tournament.
He has scored 19 goals and registered 11 assists in 89 games for Barca. He started and played 45 minutes in the opening La Liga game of this season against Real Mallorca, before being left on the bench in their second game against Levante.
What kind of player is he?
Fermin possesses the technical qualities demanded of any Barcelona midfielder: close control, comfort in tight spaces, and an ability to receive fizzed passes between the lines and keep the ball moving towards goal.
But what stands out about him is the zip and positivity to his game. He is a player who does not shy away from attacking responsibility, producing a high number of shots, probing passes, and take-ons whenever he gets the chance.
Most of Fermin’s goals in a Barcelona shirt have been sweetly struck, whipped into the corners with precision and power. He likes to linger on the edge of the box during patient moves, choosing his moments to attack the penalty spot, or waiting for the cutback where he can sweep home.
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He was most often used from the substitutes’ bench last season under Hansi Flick, but his energy and keen eye for an incisive forward pass make him an excellent player to bring on against tired legs.
If Chelsea would like to take some of the burden off Cole Palmer at the tip of their swirling midfield, a player with Fermin’s confidence makes sense.
Would Barca be happy to let him go?
Barcelona are very keen to listen to offers. The club have been navigating a difficult financial situation for the past five years, illustrated by the constant problems they have experienced in terms of registering new signings. Selling an academy player would be a significant boost to the club’s balance sheet, as it would provide instant profit on a player who cost them nothing after coming through the academy.
Sources at Barca — who, like all those cited in this article, asked to remain anonymous to protect relationships — claim that does not mean they will sell Fermin at any price. According to those sources, the club have a plan to register all of their remaining new signings this summer — goalkeeper Wojciech Szceszny, youngster Roony Bardghji, and left-back Gerard Martin — without sanctioning a major player exit.
That would involve club executives putting more of their money at risk, increasing the €7million (£6m, $8.2m) bank guarantee they took out earlier this month to register Marcus Rashford following his loan move from Manchester United. Along with the departure of goalkeeper Inaki Pena on loan to Elche, which was confirmed earlier today, those Barca sources say that it would help them register the outstanding players.
If, on top of that, Barca can make a significant sale for a fair price — in a position where they are well covered — they see it as a plus.
Fermin is not a regular starter for Flick, with Dani Olmo ahead of him in the pecking order. Barca have two highly rated attacking midfield prospects coming through their ranks in Toni Fernandez and Pedro ‘Dro’ Fernandez, both of whom are seen as players with the potential to make use of the playing time that would be freed up by Fermin’s exit.
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Why do Chelsea want him?
Adding versatility and sharing the creative burden with players other than Palmer has been a key aim of Chelsea’s summer transfer business — and Fermin would help.
He is a smart passer, reads the game well, and his movement can create spaces for team-mates such as Palmer to operate more freely. At Barcelona last term, he registered 10 assists.
As well as his creative abilities, Fermin is also a significant goal threat. He likes to crash into the box and has a powerful shot. As we can see from the graphic below, he ranked highly in La Liga last season as a double threat, one of the few players who could combine above-average chance creation with a healthy rate of chances falling his way.
But do Chelsea really need more attacking players?
In the roles Fermin would play, Chelsea already have Palmer, Andrey Santos, Jamie Gittens, Tyrique George, Estevao, Pedro Neto and Joao Pedro. The Athletic has reported that Chelsea are also keen on Manchester United’s Alejandro Garnacho and RB Leipzig attacking midfielder Xavi Simons.
So Fermin is not exactly filling a gaping hole. Adding another attack-minded player, particularly when Enzo Maresca has made greater play of his desire for a central defender, feels bizarre. Chelsea’s argument would be that Fermin would give them another way to vary their attacking approaches, add unpredictability, and lighten the creative burden on Palmer.
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Their 5-1 win against West Ham United — with the caveat that Graham Potter’s side did not provide a tough test — showed their strength in depth up front. They will want to add to this to help them compete on multiple fronts once the Champions League gets under way, with varied options that can break down different setups. For instance, Gittens as a left-winger acts as a direct threat and dribbler; Fermin in that position would be more likely to drift inside to create and link up with others.
Chelsea do not need another player in forward areas. But, if they can afford it, it is not difficult to see why Fermin would be a nice piece in Maresca’s huge attacking jigsaw.
