How likely are Barcelona to sign Dani Olmo in 2022?

One of the most surprising rumours to emerge on transfer deadline day was the one linking Dani Olmo with a move from RB Leipzig to Barcelona. It was eye-catching given Barcelona’s economic woes and the fact that the Bundesliga side wanted €75m, and it didn’t happen in this summer’s window, but Olmo is now a serious transfer target for the Catalan club.

Over the coming weeks, it is believed that Barcelona directors will meet with their counterparts at RB Leipzig to discuss a possible 2022 transfer. The German club are willing to negotiate the exit of the player, but they’ll demand a significant transfer fee given that the Spain international has a contract that runs until 2024.

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It should be kept in mind that Barcelona and RB Leipzig just completed some important business, with Ilaix Moriba moving to the Bundesliga side for around €20m. Oddly, Olmo wasn’t brought up during those negotiations, but the two clubs are willing to talk about future transfers when the time comes.

The €75m price tag for Olmo is a reasonable one, given the three years remaining on his contract, given his age of 23 and given how impressive he has been over the past year, emerging as one of the stars of Spain’s run to the semi-finals of Euro 2020.

Barcelona’s financial problems are well known, but moving on Antoine Griezmann has already cleared up some funds and Joan Laporta and his team will work to move several more players out of the Camp Nou over the coming year, after completing five departures in the final week of the last transfer window.

With this in mind, local newspaper Mundo Deportivo are reporting that ‘Operation Olmo’ is already up and running. They explain that Barcelona may even push for a January 2022 signing, although this will depend on where RB Leipzig stand in the Bundesliga and in Europe.

Dani Olmo’s Barcelona past

The player is believed to be keen for a return to Barcelona, whose La Masia academy he spent seven years in before making a surprise switch to Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb in search of a quicker path to first-team football. Olmo certainly found what he was looking for and made his senior debut aged 16.

In 2020, a move to a top European league finally materialised as RB Leipzig came calling and Olmo is believed to be happy at the Red Bull Arena. But, his dream is to play for Barcelona and this is a realistic possibility in 2022. If not in January, Barcelona will make Olmo one of their top transfer targets for next summer.