Tottenham Hotspur are interested in signing Dinamo Zagreb midfielder Dani Olmo who has a contract with the Croatian club until 2021.
According to a report on Mucho Deporte, Spurs have struck an agreement with Olmo’s representative, Juanma Lopez and the deal with the club for a transfer fee of €25m will be closed in the coming days.
Olmo played a vital role as Spain lifted the European U-21 Championship in Italy, defeating Germany by two goals to one.
The 21-year-old managed 3 goals and 1 assist in 4 appearances in the tournament, including a goal in the final.
For his club side, the Spaniard managed 21 goal contributions in 44 appearances across all competitions in the recently concluded campaign.
A Wise Choice?
The Euro U-21 champion primarily features as an attacking midfielder and can switch to either flank if the need arises.
Olmo is technically astute and follows in the footsteps of his Spanish contemporaries most of who are technically strong midfielders.
He possesses excellent dribbling skills and has a great deal of pace in his locker which he uses to glide past opposition players on the pitch.
The 21-year-old managed 1.8 dribbles and 2 key passes per game in the Euros, which highlights his vision to pick up key passes in the final third.
The former Barcelona youth player is efficient with his ball control and possesses the ability to retain possession in tight areas on the pitch.
He also attracts a lot of tackles and was fouled for an average of 1.8 times per 90 minutes.
The Zagreb midfielder is a good passer of the ball and boasts decent passing range under his belt. Olmo averaged a pass success rate of 82.9% and managed 2 long balls per game in Italy.
He is not afraid to take a shot at goal and his 4 shots per game show his confidence in the final third.
Apart from his attacking contributions, the Spaniard also boasts tremendous work-rate on the pitch in the defensive phase of the game.
He managed 1.3 tackles, 0.8 interceptions and 0.5 clearances per 90 minutes, despite playing higher up the pitch which speaks volumes about the mentality of the youngster.
However, he has flaws in his game with the youngster’s aerial ability a major cause of concern for his potential employers. He managed a poor 0.3 aerial duels won per game, thanks to his 5ft 8in stature which might prove to be a minor hindrance in his Premier League career,
Despite a couple of his drawbacks, the player was asked by the Croatian manager, Zlatko Dalic to switch allegiances from Spain to Croatia at the international stage which is a testament to the huge potential of the Zagreb midfielder who is only 21 years of age.
The addition of the Spanish U-21 International to the Spurs dressing room sounds like an exciting proposition especially given Pochettino’s propensity to develop budding talent into European stars.
Stat Courtesy: Whoscored, Transfermarkt