This summer, he might cost Liverpool as much as £51 million.

Liverpool Football Club will go through a lot of changes in the summer of 2024. Now that the Premier League season is over, Jurgen Klopp will be leaving Liverpool and a new manager will take over for the first time in nine years.

Arne Slot, who used to handle AZ Alkmaar and Feyenoord, will take over. This will be Slot’s first time managing a club outside of his home country of the Netherlands. Klopp revealed the hire by starting a chant in Slot’s honour at Anfield after Liverpool’s most recent Premier League game.

There has been a lot of talk about who Liverpool could sign this summer, as there is every summer. But this transfer window feels a little different now that Slot is in charge, and there is more doubt around the club.

At this point in the summer, Slot doesn’t know how much money he has available for the 2024 trade window. But he will definitely try to add a few new players to the team to make it stronger before an important first summer at Anfield.

Recently, there were rumours that Mohamed Salah might leave Anfield in the summer, but those reports were quickly put down because neither the club nor the player are thinking about leaving. However, Liverpool has singled out one player as the person they want Slot to bring to the club first.

Liverpool’s main summer transfer goal
Dani Olmo is a player for RB Leipzig and Spain. People at Liverpool really like the 26-year-old attacking midfielder, and he could be the first player Slot signs this summer.

Spanish news sources say that the Reds “have begun to move” for Olmo. The Spain international’s current deal has a £51 million release option, but that is said to be set to expire on July 15, 2018.

RB Leipzig signs Dani Olmo
Reports say that Liverpool isn’t the only team trying to sign Olmo this summer. People in the know think that English clubs Manchester City and Manchester United are also interested, as well as big teams in Europe like Bayern Munich and Barcelona. The amount of interest in Olmo may not come as a surprise, given how well he played for Leipzig in the 2023–24 season.

There is a chance that Olmo would like to join Barcelona this summer, but the 26-year-old might not be able to make that happen. After some tough years with money, they are still having problems with their finances. No matter how much Barcelona or Olmo want to move, they might not be able to spend £51 million on the player. Liverpool is ready to sign him if he can’t go to Barcelona.

Why it would be a good idea to sign Dani Olmo

Because Olmo has been hurt a lot this season, that should be the biggest red flag when it comes to signing him.

He has missed 29 games for Leipzig and Spain in 2023–24, which is the most he has ever missed in a single season. He also didn’t play in the last few games. But Olmo was named to Spain’s provisional Euro 2024 team, which suggests that he is now fully fit again.

Injuries aside, however, there is no doubt that Olmo is a fantastic footballer, a sentiment that legendary Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola shares. Following Olmo’s goal for Dinamo Zagreb against the Cityiens in 2019, Guardiola described his countryman as “incredible”, explaining that “he has a bright future”, and that he can one day “play in the strong leagues in Europe”.

Olmo has impressed this season for Leipzig, despite his limited game time. The Spaniard has played 25 games in all competitions, scoring eight goals and registering five assists. He registered a hat-trick in the German Supercup against Bayern Munich at the start of the term to secure Leipzig the trophy.

It’s interesting that Olmo and Jude Bellingham, who won La Liga player of the season, have some things in common. Fbref says that Olmo averages 1.99 key passes per 90 minutes, while Bellingham only gets 1.87 key passes per 90 minutes.

Besides that, the Spanish player creates 3.79 shots per 90 minutes on average, while Bellingham creates 3.85 shots per 90 minutes on average. There isn’t much difference between them in terms of how many goals they set up per 90 minutes, either. The Englishman scores 0.51 goals per 90 minutes, while the Leipzig player scores 0.5 goals per 90 minutes.

But Olmo really shines when he has the ball in his hands. He can dribble the ball very well and easily move past players by rolling them, just like Bellingham does so well. He is great at the half turn and can easily get past players once he has the ball. His close control is also very good, which helps him keep it.

In fact, he is generally better at carrying the ball than the player in the running for the Ballon d’Or. Olmo gets 3.73 progressive carries, 3.04 carries into the final third, and 1.12 carries into the penalty area every 90 minutes.

Bellingham, on the other hand, only gets 3.31 progressing carries, 2.84 carries into the final third, and 1.01 carries into the penalty area every 90 minutes.

The only place where the Englishman beats Olmo is in completed take-ons per 90 minutes, with 1.95 for the Englishman and 1.93 for Olmo.

If Liverpool signs the Leipzig star, they might have an answer for Bellingham, who they wanted last summer but didn’t get because he signed with Real Madrid. Instead, they could add a similar player to their team by adding the Spanish superstar Olmo. Olmo is very good with the ball, which would raise the technical ceiling.

With a price tag of £51 million, it could be a great deal for Liverpool this summer and the best way to start the Slot change. There are a lot of teams that want to sign him, so it wouldn’t be easy, but he would be a great addition, and Guardiola said that they would be getting a “incredible” player if they did.