Manchester City were unsuccessful in defending their treble in the 2023/24 season. Two campaigns ago, they completed the historic achievement, becoming only the second English club to do so after Mancunian rivals Manchester United in 1999. However, it was not to be for Pep Guardiola’s men last term, and they 'only' walked away with one trophy.
The Cityzens lost their crowns in both the FA Cup and the Champions League. They lost the FA Cup final to Erik ten Hag’s Red Devils, who sealed won the competition for the 13th time in their history thanks to goals from Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo.
City’s Champions League dream was crushed by Real Madrid, who beat them on penalties in the quarter-final. Los Blancos also went on to lift the competition, for the 15th time in their history.
Despite failing to retain either of their titles in the knockout competitions, City did retain the Premier League last season. Once again, it came down to a hard-fought title race against Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal side. However, City just pipped them, finishing three points clear of the Gunners to win a historic fourth consecutive Premier League trophy.
Despite tasting success in the top flight once again, Guardiola will no doubt be desperate to regain his other titles. City may well dip into the transfer market to help strengthen their prospects of doing so and have already been linked with one player who could become a difference-maker for them next season.
Man City targetting Bundesliga midfielder
The player in question here is RB Leipzig and Spanish midfielder Dani Olmo. It has been another successful season in Germany for the Spaniard, who will be at Euro 2024 across June and July, and he has been linked with a move to the Premier League following the conclusion of the tournament for Spain.
At least, that is according to French outlet Sports Zone. They report that Olmo is a target for Guardiola’s City, as well as two other European heavyweights, namely Bundesliga side Bayern Munich and French champions Paris Saint Germain, who need to replace Kylian Mbappe after he moved to Real Madrid.
According to the report from Sports Zone, Leipzig will only allow the sale of Olmo if one of the three interested clubs activates his release clause, which is worth £51m. This would represent great profit for the German side, who paid £25.3m for Olmo from Dinamo Zagreb in 2020.
At this stage, none of the three clubs linked with Olmo have advanced talks to a serious stage. However, Sports Zone states that all three have inquired, and that “initial information has been taken” should a transfer come to fruition.
How Olmo fits in at Man City
Olmo is a player City manager Guardiola has spoken highly of in the past. Whilst he was still a Dinamo Zagreb player, Olmo scored against the Premier League winners in the Champions League in 2019. This led to high praise after the match from the legendary Spanish manager, who said “he is an incredible player”, before stating he believes the 26-year-old has “a bright future” in the game.
Frustratingly for the Spain international, his season has been hampered by injuries. Olmo missed 29 games for club and country last term. However, he still featured 25 times in all competitions for Leipzig, scoring eight times and registering five assists.
He scored a game-winning hat trick in the German Supercup against Bayern Munich at the start of 2023/24 too. As Football Talent Scout Jacek Kulig explained, the 26-year-old can “produce magic”, which he showed on the biggest stage in that particular final.
Olmo could make the move to the Etihad Stadium as a long-term replacement for City’s talismanic Belgian Kevin De Bruyne. The legendary attacking midfielder has been linked with a move away this summer, and he gave a recent interview where he said “You have to be open to everything”, referring to a potential move to Saudi Arabia.
Given De Bruyne’s injury record last season, a campaign where he missed 41 games, the most he has ever missed in a single season, and his age, a move away might be the best for all parties. On top of that, the 32-year-old's contract expires in 12 months. Should the Belgian move, it would allow City the chance to build for the future, with the likes of Phil Foden and Olmo, if he signs for the Cityzens.
How Dani Olmo compares to Cole Palmer
However, whilst Olmo would be brought in as a De Bruyne replacement, he is stylistically more like former City winger Cole Palmer – according to FBref's similar players model – who joined Chelsea last summer.
Guardiola hoped Palmer would stay, as he discussed in an interview in April, explaining he said to Palmer “No! Stay! Stay!” in an attempt to convince him to remain at the club. He has since scored and assisted 33 goals in the Premier League last season.
However, in signing the Spaniard, he could have a clone of the City academy graduate in his squad. One of Olmo’s standout attributes is his dribbling ability, and he has superb close control and quick feet. This is also an area where Palmer also excels. As per FBref, Olmo averages 4.47 take-ons per 90 minutes, and completes 1.93 on average, compared to Palmer’s 3.57 attempted take-ons, and the 1.79 take-ons that he completes.
In terms of progressive carries, the pair are once again neck and neck. Olmo averages 3.73 progressive carries per 90, compared to Palmer’s 4.02, although the Spaniard edges it when looking at final third carries, with 3.04, with the Englishman averaging 2.27, likely because he carries the ball from deeper areas in the pitch more often, given his slightly deeper role. Once again, it is close for carries into the penalty box, although Palmer’s 1.58 per 90 just trumps Olmo’s 1.12 per 90.
Stat (per 90)
Olmo
Palmer
Take-ons attempted
4.47
3.57
Take-ons completed
1.93
1.79
Progressive carries
3.73
4.02
Final third carries
3.04
2.27
Penalty box carries
1.12
1.58
Where Palmer excels over Olmo is his creativity in the final third, last season averaging 6.77 progressive passes per 90 and 2.47 key passes, with the Leipzig attacker averaging 4.22 progressive passes and 1.99 key passes.
Adding Olmo to the City squad allows them to add a profile like Palmer back into the squad, which Guardiola wishes he still had, judging by his quotes, and also bring in a direct replacement position for De Bruyne.
Even though Olmo’s output is not at the level of the Belgian, he is clearly well thought of by his fellow Spaniard, Guardiola and could thrive in a team which includes the deadly Erling Haaland. It could well be a match made in heaven for Olmo and Man City.
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