Manchester United and Chelsea have made attempts to sign Barcelona’s Fermín López this summer.
That’s at least what Catalan newspaper Sport are reporting, and they claim Barcelona received offers close to €80m towards the end of July for the attacking midfielder.
The newspaper says those offers came from Manchester United and Chelsea and both Premier League clubs started discussions with Barcelona.
Within the Camp Nou, they considered selling the attacking midfielder for €80m, as it would have helped the La Liga winners solvs their issues registering players.
The report says Manchester United and Chelsea offers were ‘dizzying and kept Barca on tenterhooks for at least a week’. It’s claimed a large section of Barcelona’s board were in favour of accepting his sale.
Hansi Flick intervened at that moment and blocked the 22-year-old’s exit. The manager wants Fermín at his disposal at all costs, and urged Barcelona not to negotiate his transfer.
Fermín mainly operates as an attacking midfielder and can also be used on the wings and in the middle of the pitch.
Manchester United strengthened their attacking midfield by signing Matheus Cunha [in June] and Bryan Mbeumo [in July]. It doesn’t make sense for the Red Devils to offer €80m for Fermín in July when they have a need to strengthen other areas.
Intriguingly, Barcelona are currently considering selling Marc Casadó and Héctor Fort. Both came through La Masia and various reports have spoken about the political challenges of selling either.
For this big Fermín claim to appear from a Catalan newspaper today is rather convenient.