Anel Ahmedhodžić’s fine performances for Malmö FF in 2020 saw him end up on Chelsea’s radar.
Last November, the 21-year-old’s father claimed his son’s agent was blocking a move to the London club. These claims were then dismissed by the defender himself.
Apart from the Blues, clubs in the Serie A were also credited with an interest in signing the player in the winter market.
His agent, Markus Rosenberg, insisted “interest is enormous” in his client, but no club came forward to sign the player in the winter market.
There were expectations for the centre-back to leave Malmö in the last window, with Chelsea, AC Milan and Atalanta all named as potential suitors. Ahmedhodžić, however, couldn’t find a new club and has now said he’s not disappointed at that.
“I have been ready now for Europe after my season in the Allsvenskan. But there is no disappointment,” Swedish newspaper Expressen quoted him as saying.
I read that there were a lot of rumours and stuff, I saw that. I let Mackan [Rosenberg] take care of everything, and focus on what I should focus on. Mackan takes care of everything and when I have to take note of something, he tells me.”
The Bosnian wants to set the winter market disappointment aside and has set his sights on changing clubs in the summer.
“As a defender, joining a team in the middle of a season will be difficult. The coach almost never changes defence during a season, it gets harder. Logically, it is easier to get into a team during the summer. It is very possible that [a move in the summer] it will be [the case],” Ahmedhodžić explained.
Earlier reports from Sweden indicated Malmö have slapped a ‘secret price’ tag of SEK 82.5m (€8.2m) on the player. They want him to be the club’s most expensive sale, surpassing SEK 82.3m paid by Ajax for Zlatan Ibrahimović in 2001.
On the reported price tag, Ahmedhodžić said: “I mean, I’ll be honest. I’m worth at least $500 million [he laughs]. No, I’m kidding. It’s pretty reasonable, actually.
“I always want to give back to those who have helped me, it’s a big part of what I believe in, to give back what you’ve been given. It feels good to be able to help the club and the city I grew up in.”
Chelsea are one of the clubs linked with Ahmedhodžić, mentioned again in today’s article, and it remains to be seen whether the Premier League side or any other club will try to sign him in the summer, after he pushed the door open for a transfer.
