Fermín López is a man on a mission for Spain and Barcelona

And just like that, Spain’s domination of world football continues.

What a summer. Euro 2024 champions, and now Olympic gold medal winners.

And only one man can say he won both, and that would be none other than Barcelona’s very own Fermín López.

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Go back one year. Fermín was fighting as an underdog just to make it onto Xavi Hernández’s squad, and surprised everyone with a hard-fought preseason that led to a spot on the first team.

This summer, he became a decorated international champion.

It’s true that he played a small role for Luis de la Fuente at the Euros. In the end, it was Pedri and later Dani Olmo who were in his way.

But the plan all along was for Barça’s breakout star to be one of the main men at the Olympics, alongside his teammate Pau Cubarsí.

Fermin, however, did more than stake a claim as a starter. He became the star of the tournament, registering 6 goals and one assist, behind only Morocco’s Soufiane Rahimi who had 8 goals to his name.

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This is not a fluke. Fermín has consistently shown an eye for goal. He’s truly a different type of midfielder, and not one that you would expect to find at a club like Barcelona.

He simply pops up in the right place at the right time, finding the space to get good looks on goal.

Against France, he showed a poacher’s ability to score the easy goals from short range. Against Morocco and Japan, however, he displayed an ability to score the spectacular from distance.

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We’ve seen both sides of Fermín at Barcelona as well.

And this is something that Hansi Flick can’t ignore.

Fermín wasn’t in the preseason tour of the United States, and he hasn’t been training with the team over the summer.

In some ways that is a disadvantage. You want the opportunity to prove yourself to the new boss in town. But most of his midfield counterparts haven’t been around either. No Pedri, Gavi, or Frenkie de Jong.

And perhaps that’s why Flick has declared there will be no more signings in the midfield. The manager believes he already has more than enough to work with.

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The pivot was the big question. Marc Casadó and Marc Bernal already proved themselves there.

Pablo Torre was having a great preseason run in the number 10 position, but missed the friendly against Milan due to injury. It would be cruel to see him ultimately depart after such good performances, but the truth is there’s just too many people fighting for the same minutes.

Now Fermín’s main competition will likely be Dani Olmo, who played as a number 10 behind the striker when Pedri went down for Spain. That’s exactly where Fermín thrived for the under-23s.

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Let’s not forget though that Ilkay Gündogan also looked great there for Germany. And Pedri and Gavi will be looking to make a comeback soon too.

There is a lot of competition at Barcelona at the moment. That’s such an encouraging sign ahead of the season.

But no one fights harder than Fermín. He is an absolute animal at the moment.

The man scores goals, and there’s nothing more important than that.

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So when the dust settles, my money is on Fermín to play a big part this season as Barça create a new identity under Flick.

He has the intensity that is required.

He’s riding high after a trophy-filled summer.

He is setting the standard that others will have to live up to.

Ride the hot hand while you can.