Real Madrid Transfers: Should Los Blancos try to sign Dani Olmo?

Real Madrid don’t need to sign any attacking midfielders, but Dani Olmo has apparently piqued their interest.

Former Barcelona prospect Dani Olmo is one of a number of talented young players to have flourished away from the Camp Nou. Real Madrid have already found one excellent former Barça prospect in Takefusa Kubo, who turned heads at Mallorca in 2019-2020 before earning a bigger 2020-2021 loan assignment at Villarreal. But do they also have interest in Olmo?

BILD reports that Los Blancos have interest in RB Leipzig attacking midfielder Olmo. The report states that Real would be willing to offer 40 million euros for Olmo, but a deal wouldn’t happen since Olmo is settled in Leipzig. And Leipzig don’t seem willing to sell, since Olmo is becoming an important part of the team.

Real Madrid won’t make any major signings this summer. And with players like Martin Odegaard, Isco, Reinier, and Kubo in the attacking midfield on the books, the 22-year-old Olmo isn’t necessarily a priority player for the club.

However, Zinedine Zidane showed interest in an even more highly-rated – and more expensive – Bundesliga youngster in Kai Havertz. The former Bayer Leverkusen man is already joining Chelsea this summer after not wanting to wait until 2021 to potentially join Real. So if Zidane wants to sign an attacking midfielder, a 40 million euro youngster like Olmo should be within reason next summer.

Dani Olmo should definitely be on Real Madrid’s transfer radar

Olmo is definitely worth keeping in mind, and Real Madrid fans need to become familiar with him. He’s not the only player on Leipzig who should interest Madridistas, as center back Dayot Upamecano could be an even stronger 2021 target for Los Merengues. But Olmo is absolutely a burgeoning world-class talent.

What makes Olmo stand out is his technical quality and movement in the attacking third. Olmo has a real eye for goal and is a lethal finisher. He produces. Olmo is a player who can change the game in an instant. For example, Leipzig were struggling early against manager Julian Nagelsmann’s old club, TSG Hoffenheim. Olmo suddenly stepped up, scoring back-to-back goals against the run of play, both by making late runs into the penalty box and finishing with striker-like aplomb.

Real Madrid should be interested in a player with those goal-scoring qualities and the intelligence to sniff out scoring opportunities. Olmo is also a leader, as evidenced by his ability to pull the strings as an exciting attacking midfielder for Dinamo Zagreb before joining Leipzig. Per WhoScored.com, the 22-year-old averaged a staggering three dribbles completed and 2.5 fouls drawn per game for Zagreb in the Champions League.

At Leipzig, Olmo needed only around 750 minutes to score three goals in the Bundesliga, drawing 1.7 fouls per game for good measure. He adjusted to the Bundesliga relatively quickly, but more responsibility and success could be on the horizon for the Spanish international in the 2020-2021 season under Nagelsmann.

He’s definitely a good name for Real Madrid to keep tucked away. Real probably won’t sign Olmo and have a lot of attacking midfielders, but if Zidane wants Olmo and sees a spot for him, Florentino Perez should be ready to make a signing if the player takes an expected leap forward in 2020-2021. He could be the Bundesliga’s breakout star.