Barcelona told to pay €80m for RB Leipzig’s Dani Olmo
By Jennifer Ugwueke
Barcelona have been asked to shell out €80 million to secure the services of 23-year-old Spanish international Dani Olmo from RB Leipzig.
According to Italian journalist Rudy Galetti, Barcelona now know how much they will have to stump up in order to sign Dani Olmo.
RB Leipzig are pointing towards the 23-year-old Spanish international’s €80 million release clause, with the Blaugrana already having agreed personal terms with him.
Dani Olmo has come a long way since leaving Barcelona for Dinamo Zagreb in 2014. Seven years on from departing the Catalan club as a 16-year-old, the player is now widely regarded as a key member of the Spanish national side while also having become a critical member of the RB Leipzig first-team setup since joining them in January 2020.
To date, Olmo has made 61 appearances for the East German outfit, chipping in with 12 goals and 13 assists along the way.
His progress since leaving Barcelona has captured the attention of some of the biggest clubs in Europe, with the Blaugrana themselves being one of the suitors.
Barcelona have been eager to bolster their creative ranks for quite some time, with midfield, in particular, being a department that needs reinforcement.
The Catalan giants did not really add to Ronald Koeman’s options in the middle of the park in the summer, which is a surprise considering Ilaix Moriba and Miralem Pjanic have departed Camp Nou.
With Philippe Coutinho unlikely to be a major part of Koeman’s plans and Riqui Puig not trusted much by the Barcelona boss, the first-choice trio of Sergio Busquets, Frenkie de Jong and Pedri will once again be shouldering almost all the responsibility in midfield.
As a result, it is hardly surprising that Barcelona are plotting a January move for the 23-year-old.
Barcelona were, in fact, trying to sign Olmo in the final hours of the summer transfer window only for a move to not see the light of the day.
The Blaugrana, though, have agreed personal terms with the Spanish international, although his €80 million valuation could pose a problem for them.
RB Leipzig are indeed insistent on the €80 million release clause being triggered for them to part ways with Olmo.
As per recent reports, Barcelona are set to hold talks with Leipzig over a deal for the 23-year-old and it remains to be seen if they can reach an agreement over an acceptable fee, as the €80 million sum is unlikely to be affordable for them.