What makes Dani Olmo's addition so special for RB Leipzig
"He was a typical forward, a very good finisher. He scored goals in every age category. He understood space well, so he could find room to score. He's a natural-born goalscorer."
Former La Masia coach, Denis Silva Puig's assessment on Daniel 'Dani' Olmo Carvajal certainly signifies that RB Leipzig have got a big fish here. Although it's believed that several European heavyweights including Barcelona and Atlético Madrid were in the race to sign the 21-year-old midfield prodigy, but Olmo chose the Bundesliga leader to further his career.
Dani Olmo's journey so far
Dani Olmo - a La Masia product - moved to Dinamo Zagreb on a professional contract in 2014. His overwhelming progression for Zagreb's youth ranks gave him the chance to shine for their senior squad.
Olmo made his first-team debut in February 2015 and received Croatia's player of the year award for his performances in June 2019. His eye-catching work for his club helped him obtain a place in Spanish national squad. In his debut match for Spain, Olmo came off the bench and scored three minutes later to secure a 7-0 victory over Malta.
The Spanish playmaker has made 124 appearances for the club till now, racking up 34 goals across all competitions. Although the numbers speak very little about Dani Olmo's precious talent, RB Leipzig have paid something around €35 million to secure the Spaniard's services.
The game of football demands high skillset, sharp creativity, prolific touches and quick movements both on and off the ball. And hence, the role of a classic no.10 - an on-field position behind the striker - becomes very essential for a team.
The footballing world has already seen a plethora of good playmakers over the years. When talking about playmakers, it needs to be kept in our mind that all playmakers aren't regarded as the classic no.10s. For instance, we could compare Mesut Ozil to Kevin de Bruyne. Both are creative playmakers.
But Ozil plays just behind a striker what makes him a perfect no.10, while De Bruyne plays as a deep-line playmaker. De Bruyne can play as a classic no.10, but we can't consider him a natural no.10.
Dani Olmo, just like Ozil, seems lethal when he plays the role of a no.10 for his team. Olmo has creativity, versatility and an eye for providing line-breaking passes. His adequate passing accuracy could be a threat to his opposing team.
What can Olmo offer?
With 40 points from 19 league matches, RB Leipzig are currently at the top of the Bundesliga points table. If The Red Bulls want this season's silverware, they simply can't rely on just their superstar forwards. Julian Nagelsmann does need some creativity in the midfield.
Signing Dani Olmo could pay off for the German club in many ways. Leipzig have a congested fixture-list in front of them, and players pick up injuries very quickly when they play every weekend, even every 3 days.
Olmo can play in a number of different attacking positions, and hence injuries to one or two attacking assets wouldn't be a matter of concern for the German manager.
As mentioned earlier, Dani Olmo's ability to play as a classic no.10 would prove to be a beneficial thing for Leipzig's forward, especially for Timo Werner. The difference of goals between him and this season's top scorer Robert Lewandowski is only one. If Werner gets success in making a strong bonding between him and Dani Olmo, we could very well see the former's name at the top of the top-goalscorers list at the end of the 2019-20 season.
Also read: Dani Olmo is a top player with a bright future says Pep Guardiola