The eyes of Fer Lopez get bigger when mentioning a possible debut in Wolves against Manchester City, live on Sky Sports on Saturday. “Especially at home, for the fans,” he laughs.
A season opener on the side of Pep Guardiola can easily feel daunting for a young player who is new to the Premier League. But Lopez does not show any nerves in an interview room on the Wolves training field, rattle answers in English, at ease in his environment.
“It's very exciting,” he adds. “City is one of the best teams in the world, with one of the best managers in the world in Guardiola. My main goal is to try to do as well as possible to help the team win.”
The attacker arrived in Wolves with only seven senior starts behind him. His breakthrough in Boyhood Club Celta Vigo was too late due to a growth spurt. But two of those starts left last season to Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid. He also played against Barcelona. “I enjoy the big games more,” he says.
It is clear that he is not missing self -confidence. It is crucial that he also has a lot of competence. Vitor Pereira has already seen enough to say that Lopez could play for “one of the top clubs in England”. The Wolvenbaas has waxed lyrically about a “left foot that can give us the magic we need”.
All this helps to explain why Wolves were willing to pay £ 19.5 million to take him to Molineux. It was a key to Lopez to leave Celta, but the staff is impressed by the speed of his integration.
“It is a big change, of course, here only to another country, a different culture, but so far all employees and teammates have treated me very well,” he says. “I feel at home here now. It is only one month ago that I am a member, but I feel very good.”
It helps that he has arrived with some earlier experience with England. 14 years old spent three months at a school exchange in Suffolk, in which he trained at the Norwich's Academy and with Non-League Side Bacton United '89, where he is reminded of players twice his age with his ridiculous skill.
“I was very little, but it helped me to understand the culture and especially the weather, because it is different from Spain,” says Lopez, smiling again. “But it was a great experience for me. It was the first time I lived outside of Spain. It made me more mature and helped me to be the person I am today.”
He did not hesitate to grab the chance to come back. “I think it was the chance to play in the Premier League in a club like Wolves, which is comparable to Celta in terms of a family sub.
Pereira and his employees have used the preseason to physically inform Lopez, but the emphasis has also been made on tactical instructions. Fortunately, the right-sided no. 10 roll for which he will compete in the 3-4-2-1 formation of Wolves is not differences from the person he played at Celta.
“What he tells me to do is received in those bags,” says Lopez about Pereira. “Then, as soon as I receive the ball, try to be as vertical as possible, finding the last pass and the last shot.
“We played a 3-4-3 at Celta and we play a similar system here,” he adds. “I started the right side, but I drove more centrally. I would not consider myself a correct winger, more offensive midfield.
“So I think they are similar positions in a very similar system. The system I give is a 4-3-3, like the midfielder on the right, so I also have a winger and a striker for me. But with the wingbacks it is quite similar, so I am very happy with my role here.”
Lopez was seen as an heir to club legend Iago Aspas in Celta. The former Liverpool player even acted as his mentor. “I tried to learn from him since I was small,” says Lopez. “He showed me a lot of things, a lot of positioning, what to do if the game is difficult, things that you need to know from within.”
There is also an element of succession about his arrival at Wolves, since it comes after the departure from Matheus Cunha to Manchester United. Lopez plays on the other side, but he is one of the players who is now charged to breathe new life into their attack in his absence.
“I think Cunha is a top player,” he says. “Everyone saw it last season. But I don't think I came here to replace someone. First of all we are different players. We play in different positions. I like to play more where Pablo Sarabia played last year.”
A different position than. Another level of experience too. But there are similarities between Cunha and Lopez in terms of their skills and flair. Like Cunha, Lopez has a preference for the spectacular. He chuckles for the mention of his reputation as a nutmeg specialist.
“I think football is entertainment,” he says. “I like to see it that way. I love players who take me off my chair and I try to put on the fans.
“It is clear that the most important thing is to score goals and win games, but I am happy to be that type of player. I think I learned that by playing Futsal when I was small, perhaps also playing with my friends in the park. In Spain there is a lot. It was important in my development.”
Wolves now hope that Lopez will adapt to the field so quickly as he has finished. His 6ft 2 in frame should help. “It is clear that the Premier League is much more physical than Laliga,” he says. “I think they are two different playing styles. Laliga is calmer, controlled with the ball, more tactical. Here it is much more 'voom-voom' all the time.
“I will have to adjust, but I will work as hard as possible to reduce the time it costs.”
The presence of Jorgen Strand Larsen, his friend and former teammate in Celta, with whom he was on vacation in Greece in the summer, adds a low fame at Wolves.
“It was clearly a plus that I would not be 100 percent alone because I knew it,” says Lopez. “He was not the most important factor in my decision, but it is a nice touch to be here with him again.”
Strand Larsen helps Lopez to establish in the club. So, is the striker, scorer of 14 Premier League goals in his first season previous term, who asks him to give the favor in assists?
“Always, always,” laughs Lopez. “In training, always.
“But I try to find him a lot. If I get the ball forward, the first thing I try to do is to find a pass for him. Of course, if another man is wide open, I will go to him. But yes, I try to link a lot with him, with one-twos, with balls in the spaces.
“As the games pass and we play more together, I think the chemistry will grow more with all my teammates, but especially with him because I know him more.”
It starts on Saturday in Molineux. Lopez ran for the first time in the stadium in the friendly loss of last weekend for his former club Celta. “Top, great,” he says about the experience. “It was a shame we couldn't win,” he adds. “But the important stuff starts now.”