Matteo Moretto's Transfer Column: Dani Olmo, Vitor Roque, Artem Dovbyk and the defender's Real Madrid situation.
Artem Dovbyk's priority was and is to stay in Spain. But I think that during the most recent meeting and the last stages of negotiations with Atlético, the way things went, it raised the tension of the negotiating parties. There were a few arguments, and commissions are an important issue.
Now, if Atletico want to regain the lead in the race to sign Dovbyk, they will have to ease those tensions, change their position and get closer to what the agents and Girona want. Now, everyone is digging their heels in and getting into their stance though.
After that, the agent went to Rome on business. A few days ago, Roma asked about him, but they don't think they have the slightest chance to sign him. Now the agent continues to negotiate with Roma, and they are on the same wavelength. What is missing is the agreement between Roma and Girona. In the coming hours, they will be submit an offer to Girona however, that could reach 35 million euros including variables for Dovbyk.
Real Madrid wants to keep the situation of Alphonso Davies in their control, which is at the moment, because they know that if Davies does not renew his deal, he will be able to sign a contract with them in six months. They are quite calm about the situation, and even Bayern knows what is happening, that he could stay this summer, without renewing.
Ferland Mendy is a request from Carlo Ancelotti, he is happy with Mendy and Real Madrid has reached a agreement in principle to renew his contract. The Blancos are very quiet about the future of the left-back position, that's for sure.
I would say that now there are two teams in the running: Bayern Munich and Barcelona. Barcelona need to sell, they are focused on Nico Williams right now, and they could potentially sign Williams by selling someone down the line or making room in their salary cap. If they want to sign Dani Olmo, they absolutely need to sell someone upfront to make that happen, and every deal hinges on that.
It is true that Dani Olmo wanted to play for Barcelona, and return to his childhood club. It depends on the offers, however, if an offer comes for 60-65 million euros, then it could be sold. Barcelona is focused on Nico Williams though, and the Dani Olmo deal is alive, but maybe not so advanced as some would like to believe. With Bayern, it is also worth noting that Olmo's potential signing is not linked to that of Xavi Simons.
Vitor Roque's green light is now missing. It is true that Al-Hilal, as Fabrizio Romano revealed yesterday, are in contact with Barcelona, and are now in discussions with them for an agreement for Roque.
But with Roque, I have to qualify this by saying that there are more teams on the scene, and that until Roque gives his OK to leave for the Middle East, it's all a bit hypothetical. As for the figures, I can't give you exact numbers, but I can't imagine that Barcelona would sell him for less money than they spent.
Matteo Moretto will be back with more transfer news in the coming days, providing exclusive information on the biggest stories in Spain and Italy.
