Dani Olmo was one of the star’s of last night’s Euro 2020 semi-final between Italy and Spain.
He started the game as Spain’s false nine, before moving out wide when Alvaro Morata came on and his energy deep into extra time was exceptional.
Italy had no answer to him apart from repeated fouling; five in total, four in extra time alone. (WhoScored)
Unfortunately, his night ended on a sour note as he skied Spain’s first penalty of the shootout as they were eliminated.
How is this relevant from a Wolves perspective? Well, Olmo was linked with a move to Molineux before joining RB Leipzig.
He was first mentioned in connection with Wolves in July 2019 back when he was playing for Dinamo Zagreb.
A £22.5 million bid was reported by Sportske Novosti, at that time and the links persists into January 2020.
The Athletic claim Olmo was a target put forward by Kevin Thurwell and Wolves’ recruitment team at that time, but Nuno Espirito Santo went for Jorge Mendes client Daniel Podence instead.
How close did Wolves come to signing Olmo?
Here’s the issue. In February 2020, Dinamo Zagreb’s sporting director Zoran Mamić told Croatian news outlet Sportske Novosti Olmo never had any intention of coming to England.
He joined Leipzig in the January and apparently Wolves were never a realistic destination.
That decision saw him play in Champions League clashes with Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United and Liverpool last season.
And now he’s lit up the Euros. Wolves fans may dream of what it would have been like to have Olmo at Molineux, but it appears he wasn’t ever that close to coming, unfortunately.
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