FC Barcelona are moving towards an age where their reliance on youth is once again the focal point of the team’s rebuild. With a great mixture of experienced veterans with hungry young starlets, Xavi has a squad at his disposal that most managers could only wish to possess.
With several youngsters such as Gavi, Pedri, Alejandro Balde, and Lamine Yamal to name a few now being key components of Xavi’s squad, there is a clear indication that this new Barcelona side is going to feature more and more youngsters.
Ascending values
Lo and behold, a new youngster from La Masia has begun to show his own talents as well following an impressive pre-season from him. 20-year-old academy product Fermin Lopez is the latest addition from La Masia that has taken the Barcelona first team by storm.
As highlighted by Spanish outlet SPORT, the Barcelona academy gem has become a valuable asset to the club already. Having started the summer with a base market value of around €300,000, it appears that this will only surge upwards moving forward given his latest performances, and could possibly be in the millions by various estimates.
Continues to impress for Barcelona
Already during the pre-season he impressed against Real Madrid and other sides, with heavy praise coming from his coaches and teammates as well. Now, well into the official 2023/24 campaign, it seems that Lopez is beginning to show the rest of Europe what he is truly capable of.
Valuable both on and off the pitch
For now, the 20-year-old is seen as a valuable addition to the team both as a sporting prospect and even as a chip for a future sale. Regardless, Xavi was so impressed by the Barcelona youngster that he was reportedly among the most vocal individuals in favor of extending the youngster’s contract.
Fermin Lopez remains contracted to FC Barcelona until 2028 following his renewal, with a release clause of €400 million attached to his contract. Since his return from Linares after his loan, Xavi chose to bet on the youngster and it seems that decision is gradually paying off fruitfully.
