Manchester City defender Ko Itakura is ‘being courted’ by several clubs in the Bundesliga and elsewhere in Europe ahead of the summer.
That’s according to WAZ, who say loan club Schalke ‘will be the first to make a move’ but need to spend their entire budget to do so.
Itakura has been on loan with the German club since the summer and has been a key player in their return to the Bundesliga.
They have an option to sign him in a permanent deal for €5.5m, but it’s been made clear over the last week or so that they don’t have the finances to do so.
WAZ pick up on that and repeat that Schalke only have until the 31st May to activate the clause they’ve agreed with Manchester City.
However, according to the newspaper, ‘it is clear’ that Schalke will be ‘the first to make a move’ given how much of a key player Itakura was for them last season.
His transfer fee is not easy for them to afford, and the club still have to negotiate the terms of his contract as well.
If they are to make a move, their transfer budget will be ‘exhausted’, and so sporting directors Rouven Schröder and Peter Knäbel would then have to concentrate on signing on loans and free transfers to add to their squad.
That would be less than ideal for a newly promoted side, hence their reticence to push for Itakura at this point.
They’re running out of time to sign him permanently from Manchester City, though, so a decision needs to be made sooner rather than later.
