FC Barcelona signed Dani Olmo from RB Leipzig this season, closing the deal worth $60 million, with an additional fee of $7m in add-ons. Dani Olmo was a La Masia product, he never had the opportunity to break into the club’s first team.
Olmo made his professional debut in 2015 with Croatian side Dinamo Zagreb, where he began showcasing his potential. This season Olmo returned to Barcelona, and was brought back for his consistent performances for RB Leipzig and Spain at the Euros, where he was awarded as the joint top scorer.
Is Dani Olmo’s Barça Comeback Already Over?
Given Barcelona’s evident financial struggles and their ongoing difficulties in registering players respecting La Liga rulings, the club now faces another obstacle. Barcelona could lose Dani Olmo for free unless they find a solution as soon as possible.
When Olmo was signed, Barcelona initially faced challenges with his registration, leading him to miss the opening games of La Liga. Now, once again, the club finds itself in a similar spot and in danger of losing the player mid-season.
According to a report from New York Times, Barcelona cannot rely on player expulsion to find space in the wage bill to keep Olmo at the club. This is because, his ongoing license expires before the start of the winter transfer window, and giving one player two licenses in the same season is against the rules of the league. Olmo was given the license to feature for Barcelona after an injury of Andreas Christensen, which allowed Barcelona an exception to register him.
Time is Ticking: What steps can Barça take?
One potential solution which was proposed is resolving the issues revolving the sale of Barça Studios. In 2021, the club sold almost 50% of its stake in its audiovisual division, but the full payment is still pending. From that time Barcelona are looking for a sponsor to make a difference, but is still pending.
Another option is selling the VIP boxes in year long commitments, but the problem in both cases is the time club needs to negotiate the deals. The deadline is in less than a week.
The last and the most quick option is club officials put some cash out of the pocket as a collateral to temporarily fix up the mess created. This measure has already been taken in the past and might work in the given time frame.
if Barça lose Olmo: What’s Next ?
In my opinion, due to the club’s financial situation the club won’t be looking for replacements in the January transfer window. What Barça could do is either replace Olmo from the players on the bench or could go to the La Masia option.
The main 1 on 1 replacement from the bench I see is Gavi getting the spot back in starting XI. With Gavi’s return from his year long injury, this could be a opportunity of seeing Gavi starting again. Although both Olmo and Gavi have different playstyles and approach, I think Flick could use Gavi as a box to box midfielder.
Another option alongside Gavi would be Fermin, who has gained Flick’s trust this season and showed his quality during Olmo’s absence due to injury, in Classico and against Bayern. Pablo Torre is another good shout, as he has shown his quality whenever given minutes off the bench and was promising when started against Villareal CF, earlier in the season.
For the La Masia option, a clear candidate which stands out is Dani Rodriguez. Although he is a pure winger, he could be considered to be on the bench. You can find more about Dani Rodriguez .
