Barcelona emerged victorious against Real Madrid in their most recent El Clasico that took place during their pre-season tour of the United States of America. In a game that ended 3-0, Barcelona showcased a lot of promising positives to assess.
However, perhaps the most notable showcase of promise came from none other than a certain La Masia player who has been accumulating high praise from his seniors in recent week.
20-year-old La Masia product Fermin Lopez took to the stage against Real Madrid and produced arguably one of the best performances on a field that was occupied by some of the biggest stars in European football.
Adding an outrageous goal and sublime assist to his name against Los Blancos of all teams, it would appear that the praise from the likes of Pedri and Alejandro Balde was not simply flattery without substance.
Moreover, given the competitive nature of top European clubs and their eagerness to loan out talented youngsters in the hope of them finding game time elsewhere, it appears that Xavi Hernandez has different plans for the youngster at Barcelona.
Asked about the possibility of a move away from the Catalan giants for the 20-year-old, who already has a loan spell with Linares under his belt from last season, Xavi Hernandez made it clear that the player is not one they wish to let go of, stating:
“Fermin Lopez will not leave on loan. He will stay with us this season.”
It remains to be seen just how many minutes the Barcelona academy product gets to play out during the season, but many would hope that the situation is not a repeat of the whole saga that persisted with Pablo Torre last season.
