Back in June it was reported in Turkey that Slaven Bilic was interested in Mario Gomez. The then Besiktas player was coming to the end of the first year of his loan period, with at least a second year expected, possibly on a permanent deal.
Besiktas were rocked at the prospect of losing their top goalscorer, but still had hope.
An official spokesman for the Turkish club, Metin Albayrak, said at the time: “We still hope to have him with us, and so do our fans. But it is very difficult, we are following the situation closely and we know that Mario is in contact with Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund. This morning I spoke on the phone with Slaven Bilic, who assured me that West Ham is not interested.”
Germany’s Bild believe that wasn’t quite the case and that Gomez, now at Wolfsburg, had the opportunity to sign for West Ham and Atletico Madrid.
Maybe Bild are flexing Wolfsburg’s muscles a little too much, or perhaps Bilic stood back from a deal, aware he’d probably upset former club Besiktas.
