Middlesbrough have ‘submitted a bid’ of NOK 100m [~€10m] to sign FC Groningen’s Jørgen Strand Larsen, according to TV2 in Norway.
After the Championship side made the offer, the Dutch club received even a higher bid of NOK 110m [~€11m] from Salernitana.
Groningen have ‘rejected’ the offers made by Middlesbrough and the Serie A club and this came after they turned down a bid from Bologna earlier in the window.
The Eredivisie side want NOK 120m [~€12m] excluding bonuses and want this fee to be paid up front.
Strand Larsen is left frustrated with the club’s decision to reject offers from Middlesbrough and others, and also the demands set to carry out his sale. The forward made his feelings clear while speaking to ESPN.
The 22-year-old, for now, has not given up on the possibility of making a move away from his current employer before the window closes. The situation has seen him miss a few training sessions.
“That says something about what Groningen does with its players. My coach knows about the situation and understands very well that it is tough. That’s why we agreed that I stayed inside instead of going out for training,” Strand Larsen told TV2.
“There have been some tough days both at home and on the field. I have been mentally tired in training, and mentally tired when I have come home. It is new for me, and it has been difficult to handle.
“I feel that I have deserved to take another step, and that the bids are so high that they should be accepted, but I am forced to stay. I feel like I’m in no man’s land. It’s a tough situation.
“I have been better lately. I’d rather perform in the matches and try as far as possible to be present when it matters, and take the fight with the club on the side.
“It’s stressful, there are things I have to vent about, but I’ve learned that it’s better to do it with my family or my mental coach than to be grumpy and angry in training and in matches.”
The player claims Groningen’s decision to turn down bids made by Middlesbrough and Salernitana is ‘disrespectful’ and forced him to lash out at his club.
“I think it’s a little disrespectful. I think it’s a very awkward situation to have to show my disappointment publicly in order to be heard. It is disappointing. You can imagine how many times I’ve said this to the sporting director. Now I have to resort to other means,” he added.
When pressed on what part of Groningen’s handling of this situation was disrespectful, the Norwegian explained: “I feel that it is wrong with me, what I have done at the club and what we agreed on when we came.
“Then they said that ‘if we manage to get close to ten million euros for Jørgen within four years, we have done a super job’. I know things change, but it was said.
“When a giant Championship club [Middlesbrough] and a Serie A club (Salernitana) bring so much money to the table for a mid-table club in the Netherlands, I think they should be treated with more respect. I feel neither they nor I have been treated with respect. I know I’m bound by a contract, but I want to take another step and they don’t even look at the bids.”
Strand Larsen also made his feelings clear about the demands set by the Dutch club to sanction his sale.
“It goes without saying that it is way too much,” he stressed.
