Arsenal and Chelsea are both fighting for Spanish midfielder Dani Olmo, according to a report from Mundo Deportivo (print edition, 12/10/2023, page 4).
The 25-year-old attacking midfielder joined RB Leipzig in the January window of 2020 and has made over 125 appearances for the club in all competitions.
The Spain international signed a new contract at the club in June that will keep him until 2027, but his situation has changed drastically. He is now looking to leave the club in the summer, and he won’t have any shortage of admirers.
According to SportsBild, the La Liga trio of Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid are also monitoring his situation, while the two London clubs are also in the hunt to sign him.
Mundo Deportivo claims that Olma has a £51.7m (€60m) release clause but it is not prohibitive for the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea.
Will he be a good addition?
Olmo is a versatile attacking midfielder who can play across all three positions upfront. He can also play as a number 10.
He has scored two goals this season already, and it appears that Mikel Arteta is an admirer of his talents. Olmo personally favours a move to Barcelona, but playing in the Premier League could attract him.
In that case, Arsenal will have a better of signing him, given that they are more likely to offer him Champions League football than Chelsea. Also, Olmo could be keen to play under his compatriot than under Pochettino.
But do Arsenal need him at all?
The Gunners have four top-quality attacking midfielders in their ranks including Fabio Vieira, Emile Smith Rowe, Kai Havertz and Martin Odegaard. On top of that, Arteta has quality wingers in Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli.
Unless they are planning to ship out one or two players, Arteta won’t be able to accommodate a place for Olmo.
Chelsea have spent recklessly over the past few transfer windows, and they might continue to do so under Pochettino. The Argentine needs time to rebuild the squad to his own taste, and the board may allow him to complete a big-money transfer for Olmo.
