Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur were named as Universidad de Chile’s Darío Osorio’s suitors from England in the winter market.
The winger also had interest from AC Milan and they even submitted a €5m bid, which was not accepted by the Chilean club.
Reports in Italy on Monday insisted Aston Villa were ready to offer a higher fee to beat Milan and Tottenham in the transfer race.
On Tuesday, MilanLive.it stated Universidad de Chile have received offers from the Villans, Spurs and the Serie A club for the 19-year-old. It was also explained they would soon make a decision on whether or not to accept one of those proposals.
Universidad de Chile sports manager Manuel Mayo has confirmed the Chile international was subjected to interest from European clubs in January. He has also detailed why his employer decided to hold on to Osorio.
“It is true that there has been a lot of interest in Dario. Many clubs from abroad have approached and asked about him, showing this interest and desire to have him, but the appreciation that we have of Dario is high due to the characteristics he has, the level and growth he has shown. For this reason we are not in a hurry for him to come out,” he said, as quoted by La Tercera.
“We believe that he is going to be a very important piece in the sports project that we have for this year. For Mauricio [Pellegrino] it is a very important piece. We count on him.”
Mayo didn’t specifically mention Aston Villa, Tottenham or any other club, but he did point out the interest in the player would grow if Osorio continues to impress for the Chilean club.
“He is happy here, it is his club, he wants to continue growing, improving as a player and when an offer arrives, we will analyse it, but there is no rush and we believe that for now it is best for him to be with us to help the team,” Mayo explained.
“We know that these interests will grow and that in the future something concrete and greater may come…”
