Chelsea also interested 

©TM/IMAGO

Whilst Lamine Yamal is the most valuable player in the world at just 18 yers of age, Barcelona already have the next generation of talent coming through on the La Masia conveyor belt. One of them is Dro Fernández, who is not only among Hansi Flick’s favourites, but is also already very famous on another continent outside of Europe. His full name is Pedro Fernández Sarmiento, and his mother is from the Philippines. Although 11,000km away from Barcelona, the progress of the young talent is being closely monitored in the Asian country. The young talent brings back memories of Paulino Alcántara, who 100 years ago, played for both national teams and went on to win 10 Catalan championships.

Fernández was initially supposed to play for Barça Atlétic in the fourth division. However, he exceeded expectations during pre-season, and when fit, was always in Flick’s squad. Although Fernández has played only a few games for Barça, Flick had no problem starting the teenager in important matches. The 17-year-old made his starting XI debut against Real Sociedad this season, and one month later made his debut in the Champions League. But it now looks as though his future will lie away from the Camp Nou, with Paris Saint-Germain close to sealing a deal for the teenager. Fernández has a current market value of €10 million.

Rumour
	D. Fernández
	Attacking Midfield
Barcelona   90 % PSG LaLiga Ligue 1

The Barcelona midfielder has reportedly told the club he wants to leave for more first-team opportunities and accepts it will be hard to achieve those at the Camp Nou. The 18-year-old is attracting interest from across Europe, including PSG and Chelsea. He has a €6m release clause in his contract, and PSG are thought to be favourites for his signature. If he were to join Chelsea however, he would follow the same path as Marc Guiu. The Premier League side activated a release clause to sign the then-18-year-old striker from Barcelona in the summer of 2024. Let’s cross to Spain to get some more information on the teenage talent.

The inside track from Spain

“He is a great player who will just get better,” Flick said last year of Fernández. “Dro is very talented. You can see it in training. I love to see it.” A scout who watches the player in every training session at Barça’s training centre is Joan Gampar, and he said to Transfermarkt: “He has many positive attributes. He is strong in one-on-ones, has good dribbling skills, and is fantastic at step overs. He is a big talent. He still has to work on his physical attributes and needs to learn to finish better.”

Born in Galicia, not far from the border to Portugal, Fernández joined Barça from ED Val Miñor Nigrán and quickly ascended through the ranks. In three years, he worked his way from the U15s to the first team. Last season, he helped his club win the Youth League. Despite all that, he is known for being humble. “He was always an uncomplicated, normal boy,” his first coach, Luis Pérez, said in an interview with Sport. “He was quite shy in his first training sessions, but with time, he got used to his surroundings. I can remember seeing him play with kids two years older than him. At first you wouldn’t notice him, and then he would get started, and it was spectacular.”

Despite a good start with the first team that also earned him a market value increase of €10m, his former coach suggests more patience when it comes to Fernández’s development. “He isn’t a typical player who will right away leave a mark, but with more playing time, his confidence will grow, because he can do even more than he has already shown,” Pérez added. The main question remains about his best position. Is he a no.10, a no.8, or a winger?