The manager of Barcelona, Hansi Flick, warned – it prevents the club from gaining the young star in January
Save for a frustrating spell in November, Barcelona have gone all guns blazing this season, but there have been exceptions to the rule with Hansi Flick's free-scoring form. Frenkie de Jong and Ansu Fati have struggled, both with injury problems in the background, and Fermin Lopez it did not take off as hoped.
Lopez was named Player of the Tournament at the Paris Olympics, but suffered a hamstring injury in early September that kept him out for a month. Since then, he has played 13 games but scored once and assisted twice in the Champions League. Although it is only 308 minutes, he has not yet made his mark on the scoresheet in La Liga.
During a MD column, Xavier Bosch advised Fermin not to let the pressure on him, seeing his frustration during the last missed opportunities. Likewise, Bosch notes that despite the return of Gavi, and the signing of Dani Olmo, he will have enough opportunities. Perhaps the most notable part of the article is that he asks manager Hansi Flick to “stop Fermin leaving in the winter so that Barcelona can gain money”, as Xavi Hernandez prevented his exit two summers ago.
Ronald Araújo is probably not present until after the Borussia Dortmund game. @tjuanmarti
— Barcacentre (@barcacentre) December 5, 2024
It should be noted that there has been no other talk of Barcelona selling Lopez recently, and he recently extended his contract until 2029, but it is an eyebrow-raising sentence from an experienced Barcelona reporter. Especially in view of the ongoing financial problems of Barcelona, as they struggle to find a way to register Olmo.
This domestic season, FBRef say his shots per game stats dropped by 0.52, and his shots on target per game dropped by 0.9. Also, his shot creation shares have reduced from 2.61 per game to 0.88. Equally, it is worth noting that his lack of goals come from a figure of expected goals of only 0.21.
