Fermin, Yeremy Pino, and a £1 billion talent drain to England in five years

BeSoccer 2 days ago 1.4k |

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Yeremy Pino and Fermin Lopez could try his luck in the Premier League. EFE

With Fermin Lopez and Yeremy Pino potentially heading to the Premier League, we analyse how English football has ravaged La Liga in the last five years. Over 40 departures in five years.

The Premier League is once again threatening La Liga's talent pool, this time with Yeremy Pino and Fermin Lopez in its sights.

Rumours surrounding both players surfaced on Tuesday, with the speculation surrounding the Canary Islander being the stronger of the two. Yeremy Pino appears to be on the verge of joining Crystal Palace, who are reportedly willing to pay around £30 million. Chelsea, meanwhile, are said to have tabled an offer of around £60 million for Fermin Lopez. If both transfers materialise, sales to the English top flight will have exceeded £1 billion in the last five years, as BeSoccer Pro highlights. In return, La Liga faces a worrying exodus of high-level players.

Spain would be losing two international players, both of whom are regular fixtures in Luis de la Fuente's squads. Beyond national pride, their departures would also represent significant losses for a league that has been heavily punished by the Premier League and its financial might in recent years. To date, the English competition has signed 41 players from La Liga in the last five years, with 90.2% of those moves involving a transfer fee. While the resulting income bolsters their accounts, the overall figure is alarming: €954 million has been spent on these players, sums that are unimaginable for most Spanish clubs.

What do Premier League clubs typically look for in La Liga? Of those 41 transfers, nine involved Spanish players. This figure isn't particularly high when compared to the number of Brazilians who have made the switch (seven). However, it is significant when compared to other nationalities: two French players, two Portuguese players, two Norwegians...

One conclusion we can draw is that the Premier League comes to La Liga in search of youth, almost exclusively. Only nine sales involved players over the age of 30, and these were generally specific cases, often involving players who failed to settle in the Spanish league or those who had reached the end of their cycle and were seeking a change of scenery in English football. These transfers also tend to generate lower fees – with the exception of Casemiro – and some, such as Gundogan's return to City, are free transfers.

Sales of players aged 30+

- Casemiro, from Real Madrid to United for £70.7 million
- Diego Carlos, from Sevilla to Aston Villa for £31 million
- Coutinho, from Barcelona to Aston Villa for £20 million
- Aubameyang, from Barcelona to Chelsea for £12 million
- Felipe, from Atlético to Nottingham Forest for £2.3 million
- Doherty, from Atlético to Wolves on a free transfer
- Neto, from Barcelona to Bournemouth on a free transfer
- Gündogan, from Barcelona to City on a free transfer
- Reinildo, from Atleti to Sunderland on a free transfer

Casemiro United

The Premier League is more interested in those 32 players under 30 from La Liga. Nearly half are Under-23s, with 14 players swapping La Liga for the Premier League in the last five years. Three were 23, six were 22, three were 21, one was 20, and one was 18. The latter, Abdulay Juma, left Real Valladolid in 2023-24 to join Manchester City for six million euros.

In terms of positions, centre-backs (10) have surprisingly been the most sought-after by British clubs. Following them, forwards (seven) and left-backs (five) have been the most in-demand in recent years.

How have clubs been affected?

Like La Liga itself, clubs have also felt the impact of this talent drain, beyond the financial gains they may have made. Some have been more affected than others in the last five years. Four Premier League clubs have already spent over 100 million on players from La Liga: Manchester United (110.6), Chelsea (125.5), Wolves (144.6) and Arsenal (152).