Barcelona are racing against time to re-register Dani Olmo in January - or the Spain international could leave the club for free.

After missing out on signing Spain's Euro 2024 hero Nico Williams, Barcelona turned their attention to compatriot Olmo and eventually signed the attacking midfielder for a massive €55m (£46m) upfront and €7m (£5m) in add-ons. At the time it was reported that Olmo had signed a six-year deal that would keep him at the club until 2030.

However, Mundo Deportivo now reports that the Catalan club have inserted a clause into the player's contract stipulating that he can only be registered with the team for his first season. The 26-year-old initially missed several games due to La Liga's strict salary regulations and failed to register with the club, but Olmo was included in the list after Andreas Christensen suffered a long-term injury.

The report also claims that a second clause has been added to his contract, allowing the club to register him in the first six months, but if Barcelona fails to register Olmo in the second half of the 2024-25 season, he may be allowed to leave as a free agent. However, Barcelona remains confident that they will be able to register him in the new year. They have signed a new contract with Nike and plan to bring in more commercial revenue.

"Arsenal are monitoring Dani Olmo with Barcelona unsure whether they will be able to register the attacking midfielder for the second half of the season," reads an article in the Mirror.Now that Saka will miss several games in January due to injury, it is unknown whether Arsenal will take a further step in pursuing the Spanish international.

Manchester City are keeping an eye on the situation, as are Bayern Munich. Barcelona executives Deco and Joan Laporta - the club's president - are 'scrambling' to find a solution ahead of the New Year, which could leave them vulnerable to approaches from some of Europe's elite in the winter transfer window.