Deco being proven right for betting on Barcelona’s €60 million-rated ‘perfect signing’

The last summer window saw Barcelona chase the signing of Nico Williams with great fervour – after all the Athletic Club winger was the preferred target for Joan Laporta and a number of high-ranking officials within the Blaugrana outfit.

However, Barcelona sporting director Deco stood apart when it came to that, as he was always prioritising a move for Dani Olmo as reported by SPORT.

Even though Nico was the desired target for many, Deco always suspected that, despite many contacts, his arrival could go awry at any moment. This is why on June 18, he began to lay the foundations for the operation to bring Dani Olmo back home from RB Leipzig.

Convincing Olmo to return

Deco did this by meeting with Olmo’s agent, Juanma Lopez, at the Ciutat Esportiva. At that meeting, he conveyed to him that the La Masia trainee was not a secondary option in case the Nico deal failed, but that both were priorities for Barcelona.

Despite the fact that Deco and Hansi Flick accepted the arrival of the Athletic Club winger, for them the preference was always Dani Olmo.

This is why the 26-year-old attacking midfielder native decided to wait and see how the market evolved and rejected offers that were coming from the Premier League and Bayern Munich. Deco’s move convinced him that the time had come to return to Barça.

The ‘perfect signing’

As per the report, those who bet on Olmo’s signing decisively in the club offices also had no doubt about this, and time has proven Deco and them right as the Spaniard has become the example of what a ‘perfect signing’ should be.

Indeed, the ex-RB Leipzig man has not needed any time for adaptation and is showing his quality every time he is out on the pitch.

There were some doubts about his productivity in front of goal but Deco and Flick knew that at Barcelona he would find the perfect ecosystem to exploit his full potential.

And they have been proven right as in the six matches he has played, Olmo has scored five goals, making him the fourth top scorer in the squad, with the best goalscoring average – a goal every 56.8 minutes.

Back from injury, he shone brightly against Espanyol on Sunday and will hope to continue in the same vein of form for a long time.

*Player valuation in title obtained from transfermarkt.com on date of publication.