The £51m release clause that Liverpool could trigger to beat Chelsea to dream signing

There are few shop windows as well-lit or enticing as a major international tournament. On the grandest stage of all, players can peddle their wares in front of a global audience, and - if done with panache - may even attract the attention of a suitor or two. Or three. Or four.

Euro 2024 has been no outlier in that regard. Already we have seen spikes in interest surrounding the likes of Italian defender Riccardo Calafiori and Georgian attacker Georges Mikautadze, among many, many others. And perhaps the latest addition to that ever-burgeoning list could be Spanish magician Dani Olmo.

At the time of writing, the midfielder is on course to win the golden boot (and perhaps a European Championship title itself) in Germany, having scored three goals and assisted two others over the course of five appearances. Having started the tournament on the bench, the 26-year-old has wriggled his way into Spain’s starting XI, and against France on Tuesday evening, put in the kind of game-altering performance that suggests he could do a job for just about any side in world football.

And then, conveniently, like a moth circling an illuminated lightbulb, Fabrizio Romano popped up on social media. As he tends to do. According to the Italian transfer guru, the Spaniard has a release clause of £50.7 million written into his contract with current employers RB Leipzig. The catch? It expires on Monday. Right around the time that Olmo and his international teammates will be hoping to wake up with the mother of all hangovers and a Euro 2024 winner’s medal draped around their neck.

Nevertheless, that gives prospective suitors five whole days to pull their finger out and try to engineer a deal for the wiry playmaker. And from a Premier League perspective, few sides would be better advised to make their move than Liverpool.

The Reds are facing an enormous period of transition this summer. With Arne Slot replacing Jurgen Klopp in the dugout, and with a certain amount of trepidation in the air, a statement signing or two would go a long way towards settling nerves and convincing the Kop that theirs is a project headed in the right direction.

At a touch over £50 million, Olmo would serve the dual purpose of making a splash without breaking the bank, and it is easy to envisage his particular brand of technical deftness dovetailing effortlessly with the likes of Mo Salah, Alexis Mac Allister, and the rest of Liverpool’s creative cohort.

What’s more, the Reds have been linked with him several times before. As recently as last month, there was chatter about a potential summer pursuit; chatter that Olmo himself described, rather diplomatically, as ‘nice’. In other words, this is a deal that the player himself could very probably be persuaded into.

Slot’s side are certainly not alone in their admiration, though. According to journalist Ryan Taylor, Chelsea hold a ‘concrete interest’ in the Spaniard, with a ‘high likelihood’ that his Leipzig’s codified asking price will be met before Monday’s deadline. The reporter goes on to suggest, however, that Liverpool are not currently planning on firming up their own curiosity with a formal approach.

But perhaps they should reconsider that stance, and if the Reds are to fend off Chelsea and make the most of Olmo’s relatively cheap release clause, the key will be swiftness. Can any club get a proper bid together by the beginning of next week, or will they have to settle for an inflated price tag further down the line? Only time will tell, of course, but if nothing else, it is absolutely worth a try.