Barcelona 'fear another wonderkid departure' with Liverpool and Arsenal keen on left-back Joel Lopez

Barcelona starlet Joel Lopez could become the latest La Masia wonderkid to leave the Catalan academy with both Liverpool and Arsenal keen on luring him to England, according to Sport.

Born in 2002, Lopez was recruited by Barcelona in 2011 from local team CEVila Olímpica and has since progressed through the various youth ranks as one of the most promising left-backs at La Masia.

Sport says the Barcelona starlet is already a very mature player who stands out for his physical strength which allows him to get up and down the wing and help in attack.

The Spanish publication claims that the La Liga giants are therefore trying to tie him to a new long-term deal, but they add that the club are currently far from optimistic about the situation.

Sport says that Barcelona still expect to have some meetings in the coming weeks which they hope can convince him to stay but at this moment "everything indicates that he will be playing in England next season".

The report says that Liverpool and Arsenal are the two clubs pushing hardest to get his services with the Reds and Arsene Wenger's side having already recruited other talents from La Masia in the past.

Cesc Fabregas and Hector Bellerin have been two of the biggest names who swapped the Barcelona academy for Arsenal in the past while current Brentford winger Sergi Canos also spent some years at Liverpool following his move from the Nou Camp to Anfield in 2013.

Sport says that Barcelona fear that the talented Lopez could follow the same path only months after losing 17-year-old midfielder Sergi Gomez to Borussia Dormund during the recent January transfer window.

Furthermore, the Spanish publication suggests that Lopez might not be the only one to leave with Barcelona facing another busy summer after last year winger Jordi Mboula and defender Eric García decided to move to AS Monaco and Manchester City respectively after paying their buy-out clauses.

Sport predicts that Barcelona will make a final effort to keep Lopez but they add the Catalans won't make him any crazy offers as they still have two other promising left-backs in the academy in Marc Cucurella and Juan Miranda.