With 19 games played so far in the Bundesliga, RB Leipzig sit one point clear at the top of the table. Closely behind them, snapping at their heels, are a resurgent in-form Bayern Munich, surprise contenders Borussia Mönchengladbach, and a Borussia Dortmund side who aren’t short of goals or confidence. Between them all there are just four points, and after Leipzig lost to Eintracht Frankfurt last weekend, the leaders now sit just one point ahead of reigning champions Bayern. With the gap being so close, Leipzig haven’t looked to just stick with the squad they have, instead, they have brought in one of the most sought after midfield talents on the continent.
Dani Olmo starred for Spain in the European U21 championship-winning side, and continued to excel at Dinamo Zagreb, a club he had been with since he was 15 years old, for the first half of the season scoring eight goals and registering six assists in all competitions. He is joining Leipzig for a fee of £18 million, according to Transfermarkt, which is seemingly a bargain, seeing as the same website values him at £31.5 million.
This scout report and tactical analysis will give an analysis of how Olmo will fit into Leizpig’s system, and what he will bring to the side as Leipzig seek to win their first Bundesliga title.
Where he will play
One of the reasons that not just Leipzig, but the Red Bull organization as a whole has been so successful, is that they recruit based on their over-arching philosophy of fast-paced high-intensity football, with an emphasis on playing forward quickly and purposefully with a robust pressing system. Across the board, they recruit players that will fit well into their tactics, and are generally able to integrate players into the side and have them contribute quickly. In their starting XI against Eintracht Frankfurt, five of their players had joined within the last 18 months, in the form of Nordi Mukiele, Amadou Haidara, Tyler Adams, Christopher Nkunku, and Patrik Schick. On the bench as well were Ademola Lookman, Hannes Wolf, and Ethan Ampadu who had all joined them in the same time period, whether permanently or on loan. On top of this, Konrad Laimer, who started in central midfield, and back up goalkeeper Yvon Mvogo both joined them the season before any of the aforementioned players had come in. So this isn’t a side that has been together for a long time.
For us to see where Olmo fits into the RB Leipzig side it is pertinent to look at how Leipzig have set up under Head Coach Julian Nagelsmann, and the types of players he has been using in positions where Olmo may well feature.
Left attacking midfield/ Left-wing
Firstly, it should be noted that Nagelsmann is tactically versatile, and is flexible with how he has his team line up. Nevertheless, he generally prefers to use four at the back, and a 4-2-2-2 has been frequently used in recent months, as well as a 4-2-3-1. He isn’t afraid of playing three at the back though, as he did so against Eintracht Frankfurt, and has favoured a 3-5-2 or a 3-4-2-1 when doing so.
At Dinamo Zagreb, Olmo was most often played as part of a central-midfield pair, anchored by a single pivot, however, he also featured in the ten role, or on either side of an attacking front three. His heat map from this season shows how he isn’t limited to one role.
Due to Nagelsmann’s penchant for using a double pivot in central midfield, Olmo will most likely find himself being used as a left-attacking midfielder or as a number ten, as it would be a waste of Olmo’s creative capabilities to play him in a deeper role.
Playing on the left flank as a winger or attacking midfielder, he is going to face competition from Nkunku and Emil Forsberg.
