FC Barcelona were always expected to be heavily involved in the Summer Transfer market this year. With their rivals signing Kylian Mbappe and building a Galacticos side, Hansi Flick’s Barcelona will have to sign 1-2 superstars of their own. One of them without a doubt HAS to be Nico Williams. In fact, the Catalonian club is already very close to signing the Bilbao player. Whereas, the other player Barcelona is trying to sign is Dani Olmo.
Dani Olmo’s signing should NOT be a priority
While Olmo is extremely talented and a great signing to make, at this point in time other areas in the Barcelona set-up need a much bigger upgrade than the number 10 position. For example, the CDM position, or the single pivot position could do with a Kimmich-type signing and that should be the focus of the club. Ever since Sergio Busquets vacated that position and left the club, there hasn’t been a good enough replacement in the club.
Barcelona is blessed with a lot of top-quality number 10’s and 8’s already. Pedri, Gundogan, Fermin Lopez, and even Raphinha can play in the same positions Olmo likes to play in. While yes, Olmo plays much better than anyone mentioned above out on the left, that position will hopefully be acquired by Nico Williams once that signing goes through.
Not the right profile for the job
In a scenario where Barcelona are unable to sign Nico Williams, does that make way for a Dani Olmo signing instead? No. What the Blaugrana are looking for in the market is a player who excels in 1v1 situations, has the pace to glide past fullbacks with ease and the ability to cut inside and shoot or cross the ball into the box. That’s exactly who Nico Williams is.
Dani Olmo on the other hand, is someone who likes to work in close spaces, cut inside more than often, play as a shadow striker and pounce on opportunities left and right and make some magic happen in front of goal. Exactly like we saw during his Golden Boot-winning Euros 2024 campaign. But what Barca needs right now is what Nico only can do out on the left.
Tough Competition for Dani Olmo
At Barcelona, the number 10 position will be extremely important for Hansi Flick as it was for him during his days at Bayern. Thomas Muller carried out the job with excellence and at Barca, the same will be expected from Gundogan, Pedri, Gavi and Fermin Lopez. For Dani Olmo, there is very high competition at Barcelona exactly for the spot he would be vying to play for. With Academy talents like Noah Darvich, etc also excelling in a similar position, it would be an uphill task for Olmo to make himself a starting spot at Barcelona.
