Spain U-21 manager effusive in praise of Barcelona midfield prospect: “Has taken a step forward”

Santi Denia, the head coach of the Spain U-21 national team, has explained why he added Barcelona midfielder Fermin Lopez to the list of 23 players who will take on Uzbekistan in a friendly on October 13 and Kazakhstan on October 17 in the 2025 U-21 European Championship qualifiers.

The coach said that he sees the Barcelona midfielder as an “interior player” and wants to take advantage of “his arrival from the second line” and “his scoring ability.”

Lopez, who has played five games for Barcelona this season, is set to play for the national youth for the first time and while speaking about his selection, Denia said that the Barcelona midfielder has taken a step forward this season.

“Fermin has taken a step forward. Having minutes in a club like FC Barcelona is not easy. Xavi Hernández has very good words for him. He has earned it hard,” the coach said, as quoted by SPORT.

Linares loan helped him a lot

Lopez spent the 2022/23 season on loan at Linares and the young midfielder went on to score 12 goals in 40 appearances across all competitions. Denia said that this particular tenure was crucial to his selection.

“Last year he scored goals for Linares in the First RFEF. Yes, he can play on the outside, as a winger, but right now we are seeing him very well on the inside, as an interior player. 

“He is a player who comes from the second line, has a goal, and produces play, something very important for us. He is a footballer that we love,” he added.

Furthermore, when asked about the possibility of him making a debut for the Spanish senior team in the future, the head coach said that it all depends on Luis de la Fuente.

“Ask Luis about the senior team. He knew how we were shaping the call and that we wanted to have him. The more U21 players the senior team takes, the better. 

“The news this week is that Spain will host a World Cup in 2030 and we hope that all the young players like Fermín will be important in that event,” he concluded.