The genius £50m transfer raid Man Utd must consider amid Chelsea and Liverpool links

Dani Olmo may have found some astonishing form for Spain at Euro 2024, but that doesn’t mean that he has drawn quite as much attention in the transfer market as might have been anticipated – indeed, reports from a range of sources claim that Premier League teams like Chelsea and Liverpool are moving away from making a bid. But as a string of doors close, another may be opening.

According to a new report from Caught Offside (who also dispute claims that Manchester City are interested in making a move for the RB Leipzig man) the list of teams turning away from Olmo have “cleared the path” for Manchester United, whose interest in the 26-year-old appears to be undimmed. The prospect of the Spaniard showing off the same technical skills and eye for goal that he’s displayed in Germany at Old Trafford will likely have a lot of United fans salivating, and if the streets of Salford are slowly being paved with dribble, that isn’t entirely unreasonable.

In truth, the three goals he has scored at Euro 2024 – all of them wonderful finishes, with his beautiful strike against Germany in the quarter-finals perhaps the pick of the bunch – slightly overstate his skills as a goalscorer, and he has only passed double figures once in a season, when he bagged 12 in 44 for Dinamo Zagreb back in the 2018/19 season. But while he would be an unlikely winner of the Golden Boot should he outscore Harry Kane in Berlin, he is still an exceptionally dangerous player.

Olmo, who has spent the last four-and-a-half seasons at Leipzig after a €20m (£16.8m) move back in 2020, has four goals and five assists in 21 Bundesliga games this season and isn’t necessarily a stats monster who produces enormous quantities of goals, but he has a level of inventiveness and creativity that was desperately lacking from Manchester United’s front line last season.

A genuine all-rounder, Olmo mostly plays as an inverted left winger but can also operate as a number ten, and he thrives in the little pockets of space around the penalty area that United struggled to exploit as they recorded their worst ever Premier League finish under Erik ten Hag – and is just as capable of playing quick passing interchanges as he is taking a man on or shooting from distance. That unpredictability, combined with impeccable touch, makes him a very hard man to defend against.

Assuming that Ten Hag would utilise him as a left winger with Bruno Fernandes and Mason Mount already on the books as attacking midfield options, it’s fair to point out that Olmo would be unlikely to provide a better goalscoring outlet than an in-form Marcus Rashford, but with so much uncertainty over Rashford’s form, future and state of mind, Olmo would be a fine replacement – albeit one who provides service more than he looks to be the man on the end of the final pass himself.

He would also help United’s rather inefficient attempts at pressing considerably, as he’s an energetic off-ball player who registers an impressive volume of turnovers for a primarily attacking player, and there are very few genuine weaknesses to his game – so why are other big-ticket teams losing interest in a player available for €60m (£50.5m) thanks to a release clause?

Partly, it may reflect his relatively tame record at turning his technique and ingenuity into goals, but it may also be caused by his patchy injury record. He has endured three serious injuries in the past two seasons and missed 49 matches for club and country, and while none of the injuries were potential career-enders by themselves, there may be concern over his durability – and there’s no doubt that signing him would be a gamble for a team that can ill-afford too many more misses in the transfer market.

But the other way of looking at it is to suggest that Manchester United are precisely the sort of team that need to roll the dice a little. For all their riches, they are playing catch-up with the other top four contenders and have a lot of things to set right in their squad, and Olmo has the talent and vision to elevate United’s attacking play while putting the hard yards in when required out of possession – all qualities they were sorely in need off as they trudged through the 2023/24 season.

Olmo is a player who is capable of the beautiful and the inspiring, and who will win games for any teams he plays for even if he doesn’t notch up 20 goals in a season. Only United know if they will be able to crowbar a £50m signing into their budget, but this may be a risk worth taking if they can.