Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta will be assessing his options in the January transfer window, looking for ways to improve his squad for a Premier League title challenge.
Arteta is not expecting to be too busy, but did say that "some surprises can happen" in regard to incoming transfers. And one of those surprises could be a move for an "outstanding footballer" that would not ordinarily be available.
Dani Olmo has been linked with a move to the Premier League in the past, but has so far not made the move. He started his career at Barcelona, before moving to Dinamo Zagreb.
He made the move to RB Leipzig in 2020, spending four years there before Barcelona went back in to sign him in the summer off the back of a sensational Euro 2024 campaign with Spain.
But there were big financial problems with that deal being completed. The deal to sign him was confirmed in August, but Barca did not have the finances to pay the salary on his six-year contract under strict La Liga rules.
A spending limit is set in La Liga that every club has to adhere to and any club overspending are forced to find new income streams or lose salaries before they are allowed to register new players.
Olmo was allowed to register for the Catalan giants for the first half of the season thanks to an injury to Andreas Christensen, with La Liga rules allowing clubs to allocate 80% of that player's salary to another player - in this case Olmo.
But Olmo was only registered until the end of December, meaning he cannot play for Barcelona from January onwards. And Mundo Deportivo even reported that Olmo had a clause in his contract allowing him to leave on a free if he is not registered in January.
That gives Arsenal an opportunity that might not ordinarily have come up, although there is likely to be huge interest in the 26-year-old.
Olmo's former boss at RB Leipzig, Julian Nagelsmann once described him as an "outstanding footballer". Speaking in 2020, he said: "He has exceptional abilities and is very safe with the ball. When he gets put under pressure, he knows how to provoke a foul.
"He is an outstanding footballer."
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Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta, Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Jesus with the Arsenal Therapy Dog Win during the Arsenal Men's team group shoot at London Colney on September 18, 2023
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