On the one hand, Barcelona will be disappointed with their 2023/24 season, as they have fallen far behind Real Madrid in the LaLiga title race after pretty handily winning the league last year.
Perhaps just as bad, Barcelona were humiliated by PSG in the Champions League knockout stages, making it yet another season in which the Blaugrana failed to deliver on Europe’s elite stage. They blew a 3-2 lead and were taken down 4-1 in the second leg.
But amidst all the negativity, there are some positives for Barcelona to take away, specifically the emergence of a few more excellent young players.
Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsi have understandably soaked up much of the plaudits as teenagers who already look like elite players in LaLiga.
Yet it seems like even Barcelona are underrating young midfielder Fermin Lopez, who was seemingly phased out of the lineup by oft-criticized manager Xavi.
Whenever Fermin does get minutes, he impresses with his football IQ, silky-smooth close control as a dribbler, and even his end product. He scored an important goal in Barca’s gutsy 4-2 win over Valencia, shining brighter than the majority of his teammates.
Fermin is only 20 years old and is one of the most promising young midfielders in LaLiga, to the point where several clubs in the Premier League have been eyeing him in case Xavi and Barcelona really do want to push him out of the club.
It would be crazy for Barcelona to do that. In just his first season with the Blaugrana, the 21-year-old has scored five goals in limited minutes, including two in back-to-back games against difficult opponents in Real Madrid and Valencia.
Not afraid to do the dirty work, Fermin has the skills of a Barcelona midfielder and offers more goal-scoring than most of his peers in the 8 (or 10) position. He has serious potential, and Xavi needs to recognize that he is an asset, even in a rotational role.
The managing editor of The Trivela Effect, Kevin has 15 years of experience in digital media. He has been an editor for NFL Spin Zone, Daily DDT for pro wrestling, Autzen Zoo covering the Oregon Ducks, Musket Fire covering the New England Patriots, The Real Champs covering Real Madrid, Old Juve covering Juventus, Rush The Kop covering Liverpool, and Release The Knappen covering Schalke. His work has been featured in ESPN, Bleacher Report, Yahoo! Sports, NBC Sports, and other outlets. You can contact him at the site’s official Twitter handle @TrivelaEffect or via the site’s official email thetrivelaeffect@gmail.com.