One of the players who is really standing out this season is Fermín López (20 years old). This young player returned in the summer from Linares, where he spent a year on loan playing in Primera RFEF. Xavi Hernández gave him the chance in preseason and he impressed right away. He has now solidified his spot in the Terrassa team and even got a first team number before the season ended. The ‘Fermín formula’ has made the Barça football management rethink their strategies. With the arrival of Deco and his team, they are looking to change the traditional approach to developing young players and align it more with what other big clubs in Europe do – sending them out on loan to prove themselves for the first team. Typically, FC Barcelona players would develop within the club. If they left, it was hard for them to come back and secure a spot in the first team. Now, Barça has a group of exceptional, very young players. However, except for special cases like Pau Cubarsí or Lamine Yamal, the rest need to go through a maturation process that might stall if they stay at home. The club believes that going abroad can be beneficial for the players in terms of mentality, exposing them to different styles of play and football realities compared to what they are used to in Barcelona, where they have always had all the luxuries and support since childhood. Barça’s current approach, especially during times of crisis, is to keep a close eye on the players until they are at least 22 years old. They aim to give them about three seasons after their youth years to prove themselves ready for the big leagues. This will also help them gain valuable experience at the top level and increase their value. Fermín has made the most of this strategy, and this summer, other potential first team players are also starting to follow suit.On the other hand, if it is later shown that they do not have Barça level, only for a select few, they will have revalued themselves and can be sold for something more than what they would get by staying in the Barça reserve team. It won’t hurt the box either.
One of the players who is really standing out this season is Fermín López (20 years old). This young player returned in the summer from Linares, where he spent a year on loan playing in Primera RFEF. Xavi Hernández gave him the chance in preseason and he impressed right away. He has now solidified his spot in the Terrassa team and even got a first team number before the season ended. The ‘Fermín formula’ has made the Barça football management rethink their strategies. With the arrival of Deco and his team, they are looking to change the traditional approach to developing young players and align it more with what other big clubs in Europe do – sending them out on loan to prove themselves for the first team.
Typically, FC Barcelona players would develop within the club. If they left, it was hard for them to come back and secure a spot in the first team. Now, Barça has a group of exceptional, very young players. However, except for special cases like Pau Cubarsí or Lamine Yamal, the rest need to go through a maturation process that might stall if they stay at home. The club believes that going abroad can be beneficial for the players in terms of mentality, exposing them to different styles of play and football realities compared to what they are used to in Barcelona, where they have always had all the luxuries and support since childhood.
Barça’s current approach, especially during times of crisis, is to keep a close eye on the players until they are at least 22 years old. They aim to give them about three seasons after their youth years to prove themselves ready for the big leagues. This will also help them gain valuable experience at the top level and increase their value. Fermín has made the most of this strategy, and this summer, other potential first team players are also starting to follow suit.
On the other hand, if it is later shown that they do not have Barça level, only for a select few, they will have revalued themselves and can be sold for something more than what they would get by staying in the Barça reserve team. It won’t hurt the box either.
