Fermin Lopez has already dealt Chelsea transfer blow as 'dream' admission revealed

Chelsea have registered an interest in Fermin Lopez from Barcelona in recent days, football.london understands, with the Blues considering making an official move for the 22-year-old playmaker.

There have been no direct club-to-club talks between Chelsea and Barca at the time of writing, but there has been contact from the Blues with Lopez's entourage as they try to gauge interest from the player's side before next week's transfer deadline. Lopez's contract with the Catalan club runs until 2029 but there have been doubts over his future recently given the strength in depth Barcelona currently have in their attack.

The Spain international is an attacking midfielder, who can also play a bit deeper and out on the left-hand side. Hansi Flick, the Barca manager, has an array of options to choose from in such positions, including the likes of Pedri, Gavi, Frenkie de Jong, Dani Olmo, Raphinha, Marcus Rashford and Ferran Torres - leaving question marks over the minutes Lopez will get in the 2025/26 season.

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Lopez started the La Liga opener against RCD Mallorca but was taken off at the half-time break and then he was an unused substitute in the dramatic win over Levante at the weekend. The Spaniard, who joined the Barcelona ranks in 2016 from Real Betis, proved an important player under Flick last season where he made 46 appearances across all competitions - scoring eight goals and providing 10 assists.

And in the off-season, Lopez made it abundantly clear that he did not want to leave Barca anytime soon. "I'm not thinking about leaving or anything like that," said Lopez almost three months ago. "I'm very happy at Barca. It was my dream and I obviously want to stay. It's very healthy [competition for places in the side] and we all understand it."

Of course, things can change in football - and Chelsea will hope they can persuade Lopez about the project at Stamford Bridge that has already seen plenty of exciting, talented players move there over the course of the ongoing summer transfer window. Despite showing an initial interest in Lopez, the Blues are still in dialogue with RB Leipzig regarding a move for Xavi Simons.

The world champions initially opened club-to-club talks with Leipzig over a month ago, with negotiations proving to be complicated, and slow, due to Chelsea's desire to offload Christopher Nkunku before pushing forward with any move for Simons. football.london got in touch with an insider close to the Netherlands international's camp in recent days and the indications are that there remains a confidence a deal will eventually be completed.

So it remains to be seen which of the two Chelsea go for in the end, but whoever it is, they are now facing a race against the clock. Just five days remain of the summer transfer window and the Blues are still hoping to get at least two incomings through the door, with Manchester United winger Alejandro Garnacho continuing to be pursued as well.

Chelsea remain confident they can sign the 21-year-old before next week's deadline. Garnacho is desperate for the move to happen, with sources saying the Argentine has his heart set on a move to Stamford Bridge - so much so, his entourage quickly rebuffed a loan approach from Bayern Munich earlier this month.