Dani Olmo: I kept Harry Kane’s trophy curse going in Germany and I’m not done yet

He has already made sure Harry Kane’s trophy “curse” followed the England captain to Germany. Now, Dani Olmo is plotting to extend his jinx by firing Spain to victory in Sunday’s Euro 2024 final in Berlin.

It was back in August that Kane’s Bayern Munich debut ended in a shock 3-0 German Supercup defeat to Olmo’s RB Leipzig courtesy of a hat-trick by the Spanish maestro.

That was after Kane had finally looked certain to win the first silverware of his career following his £100 million switch from Tottenham Hotspur to the 11-time defending Bundesliga champions.

August’s defeat proved an omen of what was to come as – in spite of the 30-year-old’s record-breaking exploits for his new club – Bayern went on to finish the season without a trophy for the first time in 12 years.

Asked how much he would like to deny Kane for a second time on Sunday, Olmo replied: “A lot! Of course, it would be a dream to score a hat-trick in the final – and win it, of course.”

Becoming the first man to net three times in a Euros final would almost certainly be enough to stop Kane lifting the first silverware of his career and give Olmo a remarkable 15th trophy for club and country.

It would also likely deny Kane even the consolation of winning his second Golden Boot at a major tournament.

The two rivals are currently locked together on three goals after both netted in the semi-finals, Kane from the spot against Netherlands, and Olmo via a brilliant piece of skill against France.

And while Kane’s goals have come despite the England captain enduring a mixed Euro 2024 in Germany, Olmo’s have come on the back of performances that have made him a leading contender to be named player of the tournament.

They have also ignited feverish transfer speculation around the 26-year-old, with a host of Premier League teams linked with a man who speaks near-perfect English and has a £50 million release clause that expires shortly after the end of the tournament.

Olmo has been repeatedly forced to fend off questions about his future and it was no different on Friday when he addressed the media at Spain’s Euro 2024 headquarters in Germany’s Black Forest.

“I don’t want to get into future issues right now,” he said. “My people, who I trust completely, are taking care of it and I only want to think about the final and winning.”

Remarkably, Olmo’s main rival for the best player at Euro 2024 award is currently his 16-year-old team-mate, Lamine Yamal, who had been the sensation of the tournament.

After becoming the youngest male player ever to make an appearance at the championship, the semi-finals saw him become its youngest scorer with an even better goal than that netted by Olmo.

Yamal turns 17 on the eve of the final, an occasion Olmo said the Spain squad would “celebrate with a cake, probably, and with a song”.

He added: “Lamine is an amazing player. He has shown already what, at 16 years, I think not many players in history did.

“What is the most important is his mentality, his way of thinking. He’s calm, he’s a good guy, he’s a good team-mate as well.

“He’s working for the team, bringing the individual quality to the team, which is the most important thing.

“At the end, everything that’s coming, it will be good for him and for us, of course.”

Having become the first team to win their first six matches at a Euros without a penalty shoot-out, Spain go into Sunday’s showdown as favourites.

But Olmo is taking nothing for granted against an England team that have scored late equalisers or winners in all their knockout games, warning: “It’s a team that never give up, that’s for sure.

“We have to be focused all the game, and it doesn’t matter if we are down or up.”

Man City’s Rodri urged to ditch Man City (and poor English weather) for Real Madrid

Dani Carvajal has revealed he has been urging Rodri “every day” to quit sun-starved Manchester for Real Madrid.

Real defender Carvajal admitted repeatedly trying to lure his Madrid-born Spain team-mate from Manchester City during an interview with Cadena COPE.

Asked if he would sign Rodri for the European champions, Carvajal said: “Yes, without a doubt. I tell him that every day. I tell him that there is no sun in Manchester, that he is from Madrid and that we need him in the team. But he gives me the run-around, telling me that he has a contract and that there are no clauses.

“It would be a great signing without a doubt. He would fit in perfectly.”