Although the summer transfer window has now shut in a lot of leagues, there is still plenty to talk about.
Plenty of things happened over the summer, and plenty of things didn’t happen that maybe looked like they would.
One transfer that did not happen was Barcelona midfielder Fermin Lopez to Chelsea.
The 22-year old has now spoken to Mundo Deportivo about his decision to stay in Catalonia.
When asked if it was a hard decision to stay, he said: “Well, in the end my priority has always been to be at Barca.
I arrived when I was 12-years old, it was my dream to be here, to be able to reach the first team.
It’s always a compliment that there is interest from other clubs, but I always had the idea of being able to succeed here.”
He was then asked if he felt the affection from the fans, who made it clear they wanted him to stay.
To which he responded: “Yes, the truth is – not only this week, [but] since I arrived, in the first team I have felt very loved by the Catalans.”
Finally, he was asked about Hansi Flick’s public comments about him staying, and his role in keeping him at Barca.
Lopez’s reply was: “It’s veen very important, because I’ve always fought to be here, to play for Barca.
My idea is to stay here. You know that in football you never know, and there are things that don’t depend on you, but my priority has always been to stay at Barca.”
We can clearly see that Lopez is very happy to continue at Barcelona.
Although he is not starting every game at the moment, there is at least some continuity.
Playing with compatriots Pedri and Lamine Yamal in their native country.
Rather than a new league, new team, new manager, new language. And having to compete with Cole Palmer.
He is back in the Spain squad for just the second time since Euro 2024, as he waits for his first cap since then.
La Roja will face Bulgaria and Turkey away from home to begin their World Cup qualifying campaign.
Georgia, who they faced at last year’s Euros, are the other team in the group.
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