Chelsea are ready to pay a British record transfer fee for a Barcelona player, according to reports in Spain.

Yes, that’s right. Chelsea are apparently prepared to break the bank for a Barcelona player. According to Fichajes, anyway. Chalk it up as a done deal.

Chelsea’s January transfer window plans

• Liam Rosenior has reportedly asked Chelsea to get busy
• A relatively quiet window is expected
• Raheem Sterling and Axel Disasi need to find new clubs

The Spanish outlet says Chelseaare going ‘all in’ to sign Barcelona midfielder Fermin Lopez and have ‘made a huge offer’ to lure him away from his boyhood club.

It is claimed that Fermin –? a ‘key player’ under Hansi Flick – is a ‘priority’ signing for the Premier League giants.

The Spanish international’s form ‘has not gone unnoticed outside Spain’ and he has been linked with a move to Stamford Bridge for some time.

Indeed, ‘the strongest interest is coming from Chelsea’, who are said to be the ‘most determined to launch a major offensive’.

Fermin fits the Blues’ transfer strategy ‘perfectly’, as a young, proven player capable of making an immediate impact, the report adds.

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It would reportedly take a mind-blowing €150million (￡130m) offer for Barcelona to sell, and Chelsea ‘are prepared to submit an offer close to’ that figure.

Such an injection of cash would massively benefit Barcelona, allowing them to ‘balance the books and make several strategic signings’.

Unfortunately for Liam Rosenior’s side, Fermin is said to be ‘focused on continuing’ at the Nou Camp and is not ‘forcing’ a move away.

Regardless, Chelsea are ‘prepared to pull out all the stops’, and if a ￡130m offer arrives, Barcelona ‘will find it hard to resist’ as Fermin threatens to become ‘one of the biggest transfer bombshells of the window’.

Is Fermin Lopez really a British record signing?

This reads more like a Barcelona wet dream than a realistic Chelsea move.

Chelsea’s recruitment model focuses on signing young players, but the real emphasis is on their potential resale value.

Cole Palmer was a gamble at ￡40m, one that paid off instantly. He is now worth north of ￡130m and is widely regarded as a better player than Fermin.

There are also examples such as Moises Caicedo, signed for ￡105m, whose value has at least been maintained. If Real Madrid came in for him, or for ￡100m buy Enzo Fernandez, Chelsea would not accept a loss.

Signing Fermin for a British record fee feels like pure fantasy. It would be a dream scenario for Barcelona, which is precisely why this story exists, but the 22-year-old still has a long way to go to be considered one of the Premier League’s top three players, and therefore worth enough for Chelsea to even break even.

There is no doubt that Fermin is a very good player, but he does not start for Barcelona when Hansi Flick has a fully fit squad.

Eight goals and eight assists in 20 games is an excellent return, but it’s not ￡130m good, is it?

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