Barcelona are reportedly eyeing a January swoop for former academy ace Dani Olmo after having failed with a deadline day attempt to land the Spaniard.
According to a report from Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona have made it a priority to sign former academy midfielder Dani Olmo from German outfit RB Leipzig in 2022, with a January move in the works.
Olmo spent seven years within Barcelona’s fabled La Masia youth setup between 2007 and 2014, having joined from local rivals Espanyol. However, he switched to Croatian outfit Dinamo Zagreb in the summer of 2014, where he broke out into the senior team, going on to make nearly 125 appearances in which he scored 34 goals and set up 28 more.
Olmo’s rapid rise with the Croatian giants led to widespread interest from clubs across Europe, but it was RB Leipzig that signed him up in the January transfer window of 2020. Since then, the 23-year-old has grown into a key player for the Bundesliga club, producing a tally of 12 goals and 13 assists in 61 matches so far.
During this period, Olmo also broke into the Spanish national team and was one of the standout performers at the UEFA Euro 2020 earlier this summer. His exploits with the club and national team have seemingly put him back on the radars of boyhood club Barcelona.
The Catalan giants were said to have held talks with Leipzig over a move for Olmo late in the transfer window, while they were negotiating a deal for Ilaix Moriba. And while the 18-year-old ended up making the switch from Catalonia to Saxony, a deal for Olmo could not be struck as Leipzig demanded a fee of €75 million.
Barcelona, meanwhile, were ready to offer only €58 million plus bonuses, which was unacceptable for the Bundesliga giants give that the negotiations were going on late in the window, leaving them with little time to secure a replacement. And, so, a move failed to materialise. However, the Catalans are now hoping to re-enter talks with Leipzig over the transfer.
The Blaugrana are of the belief that since there is time till the January transfer window, negotiations can go on much smoother and an agreement between the two clubs can be worked upon. Their intention is to bring Olmo back to the club at the turn of the year, or the summer transfer window if it does not work out in January.
A versatile attacking midfielder who can play as No. 10, on the flanks or even as a false nine, Olmo’s quality in the final third would certainly elevate this Barcelona team. What now remains to be seen is if they do indeed make an attempt to land him in January or wait till the next summer to bring him back to Camp Nou.
