Liverpool could look to take advantage of a developing situation on the continent and land a free signing in January, following a torrid six months at Anfield for Federico Chiesa.
To date Arne Slot’s only signing as Liverpool manager who has actually arrived at the club, Chiesa has played just 78 minutes in all competitions having suffered with injuries and a lack of sharpness.
Liverpool legend Dietmar Hamann has branded the signing a « nightmare » overall, but there could be more positive signs on the way as the Reds hierarchy look to make a more astute deal in the upcoming window.
Liverpool on red alert to Dani Olmo situation at Barcelona
As The Athletic reports, Barcelona face losing Dani Olmo for free this January, despite having signed him for £50m from RB Leipzig in the summer. The Spaniard is currently not eligible to play for the Catalan side from January 1, 2025, however, due to yet more issues regarding La Liga’s salary rules.
Clubs in La Liga are set salary caps every year in order to prevent overspending, with those limits based on each individual club’s operating costs. Barcelona have constantly teetered on the edge of the limit, meaning new players often have to wait for squad members to leave before being registered – and even then that might not be enough.
Indeed, though Barcelona signed Olmo on August 9, they failed to officially register him with La Liga until August 27, because the wages both parties agreed to were too high and would have seen Barca flout La Liga’s salary cap. Barcelona only actually managed to register Olmo when Andreas Christensen picked up an injury that would keep him out for four months – a length of period in which La Liga allows a club to register a replacement player if their wages are no more than 80 per cent of the injured player’s.
But, with Olmo’s new six-year deal far outweighing Christensen’s salary, rather than falling the required 20 per cent below, Barcelona were awarded a temporary permit to register Olmo for just four months. With that allowance set to expire on December 31, Olmo will no longer be a Barcelona-licenced player come January 1 if the issue isn’t resolved.
Mundo Deportivo reported last week that Olmo has a clause in his contract allowing him to leave for free if he’s unregistered by that date, and though The Athletic suggests he wants to stay in Catalonia, it’s unlikely he’d remain for at least six months without the option of playing.
Liverpool, therefore, could look to take advantage of the situation with an offer of their own in the January transfer window. The Reds were heavily interested in signing the 26-year-old in the summer after he impressed at Euro 2024, and could look to reignite negotiations.
Currently top of the Premier League and looking to build upon a strong start to the season, Arne Slot will undoubtedly want to strengthen his squad in January. In FourFourTwo‘s view, this is a situation that is certainly worth keeping a close eye on – Olmo is a top player who want to wait around for Barcelona to pull more levers so they can pay him the agreed fee, especially when a club like Liverpool are ready and waiting with an offer of their own.
2024-12-17 13:00:00
