Matteo Moretto Transfer Column: Dani Olmo, Vitor Roque, Artem Dovbyk and Real Madrid left-back situation

Artem Dovbyk’s priority was and is to stay in Spain. But I think that during the most recent meeting and latest phases of negotiations with Atletico, the way things went, it raised the tension the parties negotiating. There were a few arguments, and the commissions are an important issue.

Now, if Atletico want to retake the lead in the race to sign Dovbyk, they will have to lower those tensions, change their stance and get closer to what the agents and Girona want. Right now, everyone is digging their heels in and is set in their position though.

After that happened, the agent then went to Roma with the deal. A few days ago, Roma enquired about him, but they didn’t think they’d have the slightest chance of signing 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 present an offer to Girona though, that could reach €35m including variables for Dovbyk.

Real Madrid want to maintain the Alphonso Davies situation within their control, which it is at the moment, because they know that if Davies does not renew his deal, then he will be able to sign a contract with them in six months. They are quite calm about the situation, and even Bayern sort of know what is happening, that he might stay this summer, without renewing.

Ferland Mendy is a request from Carlo Ancelotti, he is delighted with Mendy and Real Madrid have reached an agreement in principle for his contract renewal. Los Blancos are very calm about the future of the left-back position, that much is certain.

I would say that right now there are two teams in the race: Bayern Munich and Barcelona. Barcelona need to sell, they are focused on Nico Williams right now, and they could potentially sign Williams selling someone down the line or making space in their salary limit. If they want to sign Dani Olmo, they absolutely need to sell someone up front to make that happen, and any deal hinges upon that.

It’s true that Dani Olmo would like to play for Barcelona, and return to his boyhood club. It depends on the offers though, if an offer comes in for €60-65m, then he could potentially be sold. Barcelona are focused on Nico Williams though, and the Dani Olmo deal is alive, but perhaps not quite as advanced as some would have you believe. With Bayern, it is also worth noting that Olmo’s potential signing is not related to that of Xavi Simons either.

Right now, the green light from Vitor Roque is missing. It is true that Al-Hilal, as Fabrizio Romano revealed yesterday, have got in touch with Barcelona, and are now in talks with them over a deal for Roque.

But with Roque, I would nuance this by saying 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. In terms of figures, I can’t give you precise numbers, but I can’t imagine that Barcelona would be selling 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.