Is the Dani Olmo signing considered a mistake a year on?

Last summer, FC Barcelona only made one notable signing, bringing in Euros star Dani Olmo for an estimated fee of 55 million euros. Olmo had a very up and down season as he was impactful in many of the matches he played scoring crucial goals against Rayo Vallecano, Espanyol, Las Palmas, and Mallorca helping secure Barca the La Liga title.

On the flip side he suffered three seperate injuries that made him miss a total of 15 games. This wasn't a one off season of injuries either as he's missed around 64 total games in his three previous seasons. His injury history, Barcelona's rumored transfer targets and his less than ideal performances in big games against Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid, and Inter Milan it puts into question the value of the transfer a year later.

The Good

As mentioned before, Dani Olmo had key goals in games which helped Barcelona including games against Rayo, Espanyol, and Mallorca where his goals were the difference in collecting nine points in a league Barcelona won by four points.

Beyond the basic statistics, the advanced stats are also impressive as he ranked in the 90th percentile or above innon-penalty goals, non-penalty XG, and progressive passes. To interpret those advanced stats, they basically mean that he's doing his role as a number ten to a very high level. He also seems to have a great connection with Lamine Yamal and is able to provide cover as a false nine.

The Injuries

Dani Olmo's main problem has been his long injury history as previously mentioned. This makes him hard to count on to be available for games and makes him incosistent as he constantly has to regain match fitness and rhythm. It's difficult for a player whose career has been filled with injuries to suddenly have an injury free season and with a 55 million euro fee attached to him his reliability issues become more exasperated. Put the fee, injury history, and inconsistency that comes with the injuries and you start to question the value of the transfer especially with a club with the financial troubles that Barcelona have been going through.

This Transfer Window

The injuries are a problem but the main thing that inspired this article are the rumors surrounding Barcelona's summer business with it seeming likely that the club brings in Nico WIlliams and apparently also interested in bringing in Marcus Rashford on loan.

This has led to many people wondering what this means for Raphinha but I believe the better question might be about Dani Olmo. Raphinha's place on the team isn't in danger especially after a Ballon d'Or worthy campaign where he ended up with 56 goals and assist and had a historic Champions League campaign. At times during certain matches Raphinha was deployed as a ten because his playmaking, scoring and chance creation abilities are suited to the role.

If Barcelona are going for Rashford and Nico Williams it means they are going for a PSG like attack with a deep winger rotation that can create a fluid frontline and deploying Raphinha often as a ten which leaves us asking the question, what about Olmo? If Raphinha is the starter in the ten position does Olmo play the false nine? Seems unlikely as Lewandowski seems like the starter as a nine and Rashford and Ferran would already be enough for cover.

The Spanish international would be a backup ten which sounds good because seasons are long and you need squad depth but, with the price tag and Fermin Lopez being younger, an academy graduate, and equally as capable, the Olmo signing starts to seem more like a signing for the sake of making a headline signing instead of actual squad planning.

The Verdict

I can't complain about the player and talent of Dani Olmo. He has great flashes of brilliance technically, great goal scoring prowess, and has an excellent ability to create shot-creating chances.

Despite this, its hard to justify the price tag for an injury prone player who may not even be a starter next year when your club has had financial problems. Even though it seems Barcelona are out of their financial problems, it's these kind of signings that got them in trouble in the first place and the club should only spend for needs and put most of the trust on academy graduates.

Considering the numerous talents Barcelona has produced in midfield, and the breakout Fermin Lopez had before the signing of Olmo it shows that this isn't simply a hindsight take but it's always been a signing that was more of a luxury than a need. The final verdict isn't about the player as a talent but the signing as a whole was a mistake.