When Dani Olmo finally signed for Barcelona, it was the end of a long pursuit of a player with Barca DNA.
Though he’d spent a short time at Espanyol’s academy it was at Barcelona where he truly learned his craft, only to move on to Dinamo Zagreb before making it as a first-team player.
Via another switch to RB Leipzig, Olmo eventually made it back to Catalonia for a not insignificant €60m transfer fee. For that sort of price the club were well within their rights to expect the finished article.
Frankly,
Olmo has been anything but, and this season alone he has one goal and two assists from 569 minutes of football.
Not only is that nowhere close to being good enough, but he hasn’t taken his opportunity with Fermin being injured, and nor has his associative play been at the level required.
It’s as if the confidence drains out of him when he gets closer to goal, an area of the pitch where he really should be making a real difference.
No one can deny that he doesn’t have a reasonable set of skills because he has employed them occasionally to great effect, but he needs to be more than a bit part player if he wants to succeed in this squad. Much more.
He has to supplement the attacks with purpose and learn to make the right decision at the right time.
When subbed off by Hansi Flick, one can sense Olmo’s anger and frustration but he only has himself to blame. The reality is that the player is making it an easy decision to be hooked before the conclusion of a match.
Considering how out on a limb Barca went out on to bring him to the club, they really haven’t seen anything like they might’ve expected from Olmo.
The question for him now is how badly he wants it.
If he’s unwilling or unable to put in the work required to bring him up to the standards expected by the club, then there’s no place for him. Barca aren’t a charity case.
That midfield role needs someone with dynamism, energy and a goalscoring touch. Not a player who routinely stops Barcelona attacks from evolving simply because he’s not on the same wavelength as his colleagues. And that’s being polite.
If he doesn’t buck his ideas up, then expect to see him sent packing at season’s end if not before.
