Fermin Lopez in ‘surprise’ Sunderland transfer claim as January spending power assessed
Fermin Lopez emerged as an ambitious transfer target for Sunderland.
Ambition was a word thrown around a lot over the course of the summer, and Sunderland showed plenty of that with the business that they were able to do.
With the likes of Granit Xhaka and Nordi Mukiele making the move to the Stadium of Light, they were able to seal transfers that no one would have thought were possible at the time.
According to reports from Spain, they are eying an even more ambitious move, with Lopez linked with a move to Sunderland in January.
Sunderland will spend in January, but Fermin Lopez deal is nonsensical
Lopez is a regular for Barcelona, and the rumoured £70million bid made by the Black Cats would be a Premier League record transfer for a newly-promoted side.
Given how much they spent in the summer, it seems highly unlikely they would have the PSR room to blow that much on one signing, nor would it be reasonable to think that Lopez would ditch regular first-team football at Barcelona.
Those sentiments are echoed by finance expert Dan Plumley, who told Mackem News it would be a huge surprise to see a deal like that come to fruition.
He said: “Purely in PSR terms and where they’ve come from and the start they’ve had as well, they would be able to spend a little bit in January if they wanted to.
“I don’t think we’ll see that kind of transfer. I think that would be a real surprise. Not just the name but the fee as well, so I think we need to take that with a pinch of salt.
“We’ve talked about the finances for being in the Premier League, and if you stay up, you get that again, which can then fuel future transfer activity, and will make the finances healthier.
“I think they can spend in January, no, I don’t think we’ll see that kind of huge transfer.”
Fermin Lopez’s release clause speaks volumes
There’s no other way of putting it, but there is next to no chance that Sunderland will sign Lopez this January.
A player of that calibre, and at that age, is not going to take a risk at this stage of his career and depart Barcelona for a newly-promoted Premier League side, regardless of how well they have fared.
Further down the line, perhaps, though a deal like that would require Sunderland to be challenging for European football consistently.
Added to that, Lopez has a £440m release clause in his contract at Barcelona, and with four years left on his deal, the La Liga giants will not be in a rush to sell.
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