Manchester City have been told a firm ‘no’ when it comes to their chances of landing Dani Olmo this summer.
Christian Falk reported in his exclusive Fact Files column with CaughtOffside that the RB Leipzig hierarchy has made it clear their Spanish international will be remaining in the squad beyond the window.
A release clause, however, will kick in next year, which will surely open up the possibility of an exit for the well-appreciated 25-year-old.
“There are rumours that Manchester City are moving for Dani Olmo as backup for Kevin De Bruyne. On Monday I was talking to the big boss at Leipzig, Oliver Mintzlaff,” the German journalist wrote.
“He was the CEO and now he’s a bit higher up in the hierarchy, though he still makes the big decisions at the club.
“He said to me when I asked about the idea of selling Olmo to City: ‘no chance for City. Olmo will stay in the squad this summer, so no Premier League club will get him’. Olmo has a release clause but this will kick in next year.”
It’s a no from Falk… so where to from here?
The forward has enjoyed an imperious start to the 2023/24 campaign, firing in a hat-trick against Bayern Munich in the DFL Supercup before scoring in the 3-2 defeat to Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen.
Leipzig’s position on the matter is, of course, more than understandable having already lost a handful of key men to the Premier League in the form of Dominik Szoboszlai (Liverpool), Christopher Nkunku (Chelsea) and Josko Gvardiol (Manchester City).
Where the Sky Blues go from here remains to be seen amid difficulties in negotiations with West Ham over Lucas Paqueta.