Decision made: Barcelona will not sell Chelsea target this summer

Barcelona need to sell players in order to be able to raise the funds required to return to La Liga’s 1:1 rule – and ultimately, register their new signings. A number of candidates have emerged in recent weeks, and among them has been a surprise name: Fermin Lopez.

Fermin, who has been linked with Chelsea in recent months, has had a very promising two seasons in the Barcelona first team since breaking through in the summer of 2023. Despite having regularly acted as an impact sub, the 22-year-old midfielder has racked up 19 goals and nine assists in 88 appearances for the Catalan side. However, there have been rumours that this would not be enough to save him from a possible exit.

Barcelona have an overcrowding in midfield, which will only be made worse when a left winger joins – at this time, Raphinha is expected to move in-field, thus dropping Fermin down the pecking order. As such, reports have emerged that he could be sold this summer, but these have now been quashed.

As per Diario AS, the decision has been made that Fermin will not be sold by Barcelona this summer, with head coach Hansi Flick making it clear that he wants to retain the services of the Spain international – whom he values highly.

Barcelona have 2-3 players in mind for summer sale(s)

Fermin will not go, but Barcelona have identified leading candidates to leave this summer. Marc-Andre Ter Stegen is the obvious one, with him having now officially been demoted to third-choice goalkeeper behind Joan Garcia and Wojciech Szczesny. Meanwhile, there are plans for one of Ronald Araujo or Andreas Christensen to depart too, although neither wishes to be the one to go.

It will be difficult for Barcelona to complete the sales needed to secure a return to the 1:1 rule, but it is also smart for Fermin to stay. He’s a differential option for Flick, as he has shown during his first two years in the first team.