BARCELONA
Barcelona eyeing Sterling, Dani Olmo acquisitions this January
Joan Laporta's first-ever winter signing was Edgar Davids in January 2004 and the second-tenure Barcelona president will hope to have similar fortune come this January.
Barcelona have opened the possibility of bringing in top talent in the January transfer market, according to Catalan daily Mundo Deportivo. The Camp Nou coffers have improved somewhat this summer and the club is now in a financial position to make acquisitions.
Two players high on the priority list are Manchester City striker Raheem Sterling and RB Leipzig’s Dani Olmo, both of whom had been linked to Camp Nou this summer.
Pep Guardiola and City had given the green light for Sterling to leave provided a satisfactory offer came in. Barcelona’s director of football, Mateu Alemay, traveled to Manchester this summer to speak with City regarding Sterling but not much progress was made.
Meanwhile, Dani Olmo is a player who is liked a lot among Barcelona's top brass. A product of the Barcelona youth academy, the 23-year-old Spanish international has improved immensely over the last two seasons, but it appears RB Leipzig will be reluctant to let him go, regardless of the offer price.
Laporta’s first-ever winter singing: Edgar Davids
Joan Laporta will have very fond memories of his first-ever winter signing in January 2004, during his first tenure as Barcelona president. Having been consigned to a bench role at Juventus, Edgar Davids joined Barcelona on loan that winter, going on to play 18 games (13 wins, 3 losses, 2 draws) and leaving a lasting memory in that short space of time.
The Dutchman made an immediate impact and, with his aggressive and winning mentality, helped to give a spark to a team that went on to become LaLiga champions the following season.
However, Barça has not had much fortune with winter signings in recent years, if we consider Yerry Mina, Kevin-Prince Boateng, and Jeison Murillo (Martin Braithwaite arrived later, in February 2020, due to the injuries of Luis Suárez and Ousmane Dembélé).
The club's sporting direction led by Ramon Planes, therefore, will not want to make the same kind of mistakes again come this January. Last season, winter targets Eric Garcia and Memphis Depay did not end up arriving until the summer.