Man City ‘make exchange’ over £51m transfer with club legend ‘very interested in new challenge’
Manchester City are interested in signing RB Leipzig midfielder Dani Olmo and are hoping one of his ‘close friends’ will convince him to move to the Etihad, according to reports.
Joint with Paris Saint-Germain, Man City is Olmo’s most frequent opponent in the Champions League, facing the Premier League club four times.
Four appearances do not tell the whole story as the Spaniard has missed another four matches against the Citizens through injury.
He impressed as Dinamo Zagreb were brushed aside in the 2019/20 group stage and picked up an assist in the 6-3 defeat for Leipzig two years later.
City and Leipzig met in last season’s last 16 and the German side were battered 8-1 on aggregate, with Olmo playing 18 minutes across both legs.
The 26-year-old is a highly-rated player and has been strongly linked with Barcelona, as well as City.
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Olmo represented the Catalan giants at youth level between 2007 and 2014 before joining Zagreb on a free transfer.
Leipzig spent €29million on the Spanish playmaker in January 2020 and he has gone on to make 148 appearances for the German side, scoring 29 goals and making 34 assists.
Barcelona have been strongly linked with Olmo during his time at Leipzig but so have Pep Guardiola’s side, who have a trick up their sleeve to land the Spaniard.
Man City, Barcelona vying for Dani Olmo signing
According to German outlet BILD, City could use Josko Gvardiol’s ‘close’ relationship with Olmo to help strike a deal this summer.
It is claimed that ‘there has been an exchange regarding a transfer’ but there are no ‘concrete signals’ that the European champions are willing to trigger the player’s €60million (£51million) release clause.
Despite this, an exit looks likely with ‘the signs pointing to farewell in the summer’, with ‘numerous parties’ keen.
Barcelona are one of those teams but can not afford to trigger Olmo’s release clause so are likely to come forward with a bid of installments.
This does not suit Leipzig, whose reluctance to deal with Barca is shared by the player, who would ‘prefer the Premier League’.
Kevin De Bruyne to MLS?
City could step up their interest in Olmo if they lose one of Kevin De Bruyne or Bernardo Silva this summer.
Silva is another player being linked with Barca, while De Bruyne is believed to be attracting interest from Saudi Arabia and MLS.
It has been reported that the Belgian would prefer to play in the United States and a report from GiveMeSport states that San Diego FC want to sign him.
A move to San Diego could suit City and De Bruyne as they will not join MLS as an expansion team until 2025, when the 32-year-old’s contract expires.
The GiveMeSport report claims the former Chelsea youngster is ‘very interested in embarking on a fresh challenge in MLS’.
De Bruyne is expected to have talks with City at the end of the season as San Diego’s hierarchy attempt to make him their ‘marquee signing’.
