It is uncommon to see typical youngsters in football possess the charisma and character of those developed by Barcelona. La Blaugrana have managed to create some of the most efficient and effective talents in the current generation. Without these young talents, however, Barcelona would arguably already have lost their relevancy.
Some of them, even those that previously felt discarded, manage to find their place. Such is the case of a certain 20-year-old midfielder, whose future at Barcelona seemed quite uncertain. Now, however, it seems almost impossible to imagine a Barça side doing well without him as things stand.
The player in question is none other than Fermin Lopez, who has found his own place within Barcelona. Long gone are the days of his loans to sides like Linares, and he is now a consolidated player within Xavi’s first team.
As highlighted by Mundo Deportivo, he continues to gain more and more confidence. With each passing game, the Spaniard is able to explore more of his dynamism, and even more of his lethal presence in front of goal. He did it against Napoli, and that quality has lingered against Atletico Madrid as well.
Through the use of his great timing and runs, he constantly managed to come up into dangerous positions. Even when the Barcelona attackers look to be taken out of the game, Lopez spawns out of nowhere and just needs someone to pick up his run.
With his technical expertise, he is more or less able to handle the rest on his own. His sublime ball control often helps him dictate the tempo of the game whenever he has possession, and this helps in adjusting the speed with which Barcelona want to attack.
However, given his regularly disruptive nature, he is more than capable of driving attacks forward himself. His goal against Napoli came through good positioning and clever finishing, while his latest goal against Atletico Madrid was a result of arriving late into the box and converting a sublime Robert Lewandowski cross with a well-timed header.
Both these goals show the versatility of his weapons, and just how lethal they can be. With Andreas Christensen injured in the warmup to the game, Lopez was given an opportunity to start twice in a row for Barcelona. Fortunately, he did not disappoint, and was instead impressive with most of the things he did.
