Chelsea have reportedly submitted a €50 million offer to test Barcelona’s resolve on Fermin Lopez, as neither the Catalans nor the club have ruled out an exit.
According to Sport via Sport Witness, Barcelona have reportedly received a €50 million bid from Chelsea for attacking midfielder Fermin Lopez. The Catalans are currently struggling with their finances and would welcome a sizeable bid of that kind to help ease their troubles, as the player’s camp has yet to rule out a move away from the club.
Earlier on Tuesday, David Ornstein reported that Chelsea were eager to explore a move for Barcelona’s Fermin Lopez, but insisted club-to-club talks had not taken place. Now, the report from Spain insists that the Blues have indeed moved forward and made an offer for the Spanish international with two caps to his name.
Barcelona are currently embroiled in financial issues that threaten the prospect of registering their summer signings like Joan Garcia and Marcus Rashford. The report states that Chelsea have made an offer worth €50 million, which would reportedly ease Barcelona’s troubles with player registrations, as the sale of Lopez will be deemed as pure profit.
Hence, there’s no clear rejection from Barcelona’s perspective, as they might even lean towards accepting the offer. Moreover, the player’s camp have yet to rule out a move away from the club despite Lopez’ earlier stance ot staying with the Catalans.
Hansi Flick was keen to keep Lopez, although he might concede if the club continues to face their issues with player registration. For the 22-year-old Barcelona playmaker, it’s imperative to keep playing regularly, and while he would like to do that in his current surroundings, an exciting project elsewhere might also be of interest to his camp.
Why are Chelsea keen on Fermin Lopez?
Chelsea are not the first team to show an interest in Lopez, as Manchester United were also considering a move earlier. However, the Blues are probably looking at the 22-year-old Barcelona playmaker as a potential alternative to Xavi Simons, as there have been some doubts creeping in over a move for the RB Leipzig star.
Meanwhile, the likes of Tottenham ponder a hijack of the Simons move, and for Chelsea, they might still make the move if they can sell existing stars. From a financial point of view, the €50 million offer for Lopez is probably lower than what Simons would cost, and that could also be a factor why Chelsea are eager to chase the 22-year-old Barcelona playmaker.