In the fifteen years which have passed since Thiago Alcantara strutted onto the first-team stage at Barcelona, Javi Roxo has only ever encountered one player with ‘superior’ levels of vision. A player now reportedly on the radar of West Ham United.
Likened to a young Andres Iniesta, hailed as a future star by Hansi Flick, and labelled the ‘protege’ to Gavi by the Blaugrana ace himself, of all the baby-faced teenagers to emerge from Barcelona’s fabled La Masia academy in recent times, Pedro ‘Dro’ Fernandez is certainly among the most highly regarded.
That raw talent and those words of praise do not, however, come with a guarantee of first-team football at the La Liga champions.
Reporter Alan Nixon, via his official Patreon account, was the first to report that West Ham United have their sights ambitiously fixed upon the silky Spain Under-18 sensation. West Ham are reportedly planning a raid of Barcelona, knowing that this could well be a unique opportunity to turn Fernandez’s head.
The 17-year-old may have started La Liga and Champions League matches for the very first time in recent weeks but, if the aforementioned Gavi is not even secure in Barcelona’s starting XI these days, there remains a chance that Fernandez may go the way of Marc Guiu, Arnau Martinez and Victor Munoz, rather than Lamine Yamal.
Talent, after all, does not always translate into chances in this most stocked of midfields.
Pedro Fernandez, left, celebrates in Barcelona's Champions League demolition of Olympiacos
Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images
West Ham United target Pedro ‘Dro’ Fernandez likened to Barcelona legend Andres Iniesta
Fernandez, or ‘Dro’ as he is known, provided the first assist of his senior career during Barcelona’s 6-1 thrashing of Olympiakos in the Champions League a week ago.
Picking up possession in the left-hand pocket, Fernandez glided towards the penalty area and rolled a neat pass into the path of hat-trick hero Fermin Lopez.
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While more your classic Barcelona playmaker, rather than an out-and-out winger, it will not have gone unnoticed by Luis Perez that his maiden goal contribution on the first-team stage came from a similar role to the one Andres Iniesta occupied during well over a decade in red and blue.
“Dro was always very special,” Perez, who coached Fernandez at Val Minor academy, told Sport in August. “He has a gift for touching the ball and has always been very creative.
“He is very technical and, although his right foot is good, he dominates with his left. ‘Dro’ has a good header, and the best thing is his vision and his offensive actions. Although there are those who compare him to Pedri, I see more of Andres Iniesta in him.”
“I see him play at Barca, and it’s true that they’ve added details to his game and that he’s grown a lot physically,” added the aforementioned Javi Roxo, another former coach with Val Minor.
“But the essence of his football remains the same. He plays with the same confidence as when he was a child.
“Dro is a talent on Thiago’s level. I have not seen anyone as technical as Thiago, but Dro’s vision of the game is even superior.”
Hansi Flick is giving Spain U18 star Fernandez a chance at Barca
In a montage of Fernandez’s best moments, provided by Barcelona’s official YouTube channel, it only takes a few clips to realise that he possesses all the hallmarks of a trademark La Masia wonderkid.
Mesmerising close control, effortless balance, and the ability to waltz past opposition players like smoke on the wind.
West Ham’s best hope, presuming they have any hope at all, may revolve around how Fernandez’s camp see his future developing. Do they really believe that the pathway to first-team prominence exists, at a club boasting such luminaries as Marc Bernal and Marc Casado on their bench? The aforementioned Fermin Lopez, meanwhile, has started only three league matches himself in 2025/26.
Though, with head coach Hansi Flick trusting Fernandez enough to start high-profile matches on both the domestic and European stage, it appears that those in charge of the Catalonian royalty are going to give their young prince every chance to prove he deserves the keys to the kingdom.
“Dro is doing very well,” Flick told MARCA shortly after Fernandez’s maiden La Liga start against Real Sociedad. “He has the ability to control the ball well and has the capacity to do very well.
“He’s an incredible talent and a great person. A really good kid,” adds Gavi, the two-time La Liga champion who has taken a player four years his junior under his wing [Sport]. “I advise him a lot because, in the end, he’s my protege.
“I always try to help him with everything, and I hope he keeps going with the mindset he has and gives his all in training. That’s important because the coach sees it and makes decisions based on that. If he continues like this, everything will go well for him.”