Xavi to decide on Barcelona academy ace’s first-team status after impressive pre-season

It is not surprising to see the sheer number of La Masia stars in Xavi Hernandez’s squad. Barcelona, after all, is an institution in world football that advocates a style of play and youngsters brought up with the ideologies often fare better than the biggest names in the game.

Gavi, Alejandro Balde, and Ansu Fati are just a few of the academy players to have established their presence in Barcelona’s setup in recent years.

This preseason, Xavi has seen a number of promising candidates audition to be the next in line.

One such player is Fermin Lopez. The youngster has shown promise in his limited time with the first team so far, and his efforts have not gone unnoticed.

According to reports from Mundo Deportivo, Lopez has shown enough over the past few weeks to command a spot in the first team for the time being.

The final decision is up to Xavi, though, and he is yet to take a call, but the youngster has a good chance of staying in the loop of the senior setup.

A strong performer in pre-season

The 20-year-old has been a subject of interest right from Barcelona’s first day of pre-season training when he linked up to train with the senior squad.

Lopez made his debut for Xavi’s side in the friendly against Arsenal, providing one key pass in just over half an hour of action. Lopez, however, announced his arrival on the big stage in the following game.

The Spaniard was called on by the manager for the final 25 minutes of the preseason Clasico against Real Madird where he stole the headlines with a stunning goal and a sumptuous assist. He only needed ten touches on the night to deliver the aforementioned impact.

Last night, Lopez came on for the final 10 minutes against Tottenham Hotspur and once again delivered. It was the 20-year-old who linked up with Ez Abde for the team’s fourth goal on the night, thereby securing the result.

As such, there is a good chance that Lopez might end up securing a spot in the first-team roster, although, as iterated earlier, the final call is up to Xavi.