FC Barcelona already have an established list of players they wish to pursue in the summer. The Catalan club does not have the resources to sign every single one of their most desired targets just yet, however. That is why it is crucial for Barcelona to manage their priorities accordingly.
At the moment, the very highest of priorities at Barcelona remains the signing of a certain 22-year-old Athletic Club star. Nico Williams, one of the heroes for Spain in the European Championship, has now become the absolute priority for Barça and the club hopes to go all out for him.
He currently has a release clause of €58 million, and that is the amount that Barça are apparently ready to pay for him. Unfortunately, nothing is a guarantee in the world of football and things can go wrong all the time. That is why, even today, the Catalan club has proper alternatives in place for Nico Williams.
According to SPORT, the player who is now the priority in case the operation for Nico Williams fails is Dani Olmo. While Liverpool star Luis Diaz was previously the Plan B as per SPORT, it now appears that the 26-year-old RB Leipzig star is the man that Barça would be betting on as their secondary option this summer.
The credit for this shift in belief and faith, especially that of Barcelona director Deco, goes to Olmo’s performances in the European Championship. Due to his diligence and excellence for Spain in the continental tournament, he has now greatly increased his value in the eyes of Barça.
However, the price that the Catalan club is willing to pay for him would be much lower than €60 million, which was the original value of his release clause.
This is because the only reason why Barcelona would be unable to sign Nico Williams would be if they were unable to pay his release clause in full, and that would mean they surely cannot match the €60 million that RB Leipzig are asking for Olmo.
One thing that the Catalan giants will need to remain aware of, however, is interest from other clubs in Olmo. Both Manchester City and Bayern Munich are reportedly interested in signing him, but the player dreams of joining Barcelona, and La Blaugrana hope to keep this as their trump card.
