Manchester City Switch Their Focus On This Barcelona Ace: Replacement For De Bruyne?

According to renowned transfer expert Sacha Tavolieri, Manchester City have admitted defeat to Bayern Munich and Liverpool in the hunt for Florian Wirtz. But the focus has now shifted to Dani Olmo, whom Pep Guardiola highly appreciates. The SkyBlues could not intensify their interest in the Barcelona playmaker ahead of a potential summer swoop.

City had a dreadful campaign, considering their usual standards. They have yet to cement a Champions League berth with two Premier League games remaining. A defeat against Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final rubbed salt in the wound, and the English hotshots, therefore, are expected to continue their spending spree regardless of an expensive winter window. They splashed around £170m to secure the services of Abdukodir Khusanov, Omar Marmoush, Nico González, and Vitor Reis, and the investment won’t slow down until the manager is content with his squad rebuild.

Born in Catalonia, the 27-year-old Spanish international had his youth stints with both Espanyol and Barcelona. However, he chose a different route to success by plying his trade to Dinamo Zagreb. After a couple of successful seasons in the Croatian top flight, RB Leipzig tied him down for €34m in January 2020.

Olmo made significant strides for his club and the country during his Bundesliga tenure. Barcelona brought the former La Masia graduate back to his homeland last summer for a fee in the region of  €60m. Despite missing a few games through injuries, the Spaniard has netted 11 goals and laid on 7 more in 38 appearances across competitions.

Why Manchester City Should Snap Up Olmo

Olmo has been pivotal to Hansi Flick’s La Liga-winning squad, as the German chief primarily deployed him as a ‘number 10’ throughout the season. But he is also capable of slotting in down the left as an inverted winger, thus providing Guardiola a viable attacking option similar to Kevin De Bruyne. The iconic Belgian is set to conclude his decade-long association with Manchester City on Sunday afternoon, and while it is practically impossible to emulate his legacy overnight, the Spanish playmaker could be a decent alternative with his range of passing, shooting, dribbling, as well as defensive contribution.

City will have Rodri back from his long-term knee injury. Also, the potential arrivals of Morgan Gibbs-White and Tijjani Reijnders would bolster them in the middle of the park. Guardiola will go all guns blazing and chase a ‘quadruple’ next season, and the high-profile signings, including Olmo, would be a worrying sign for fellow Premier League rivals Arsenal and the 2024-25 Champions, Liverpool.