VfB Stuttgart ‘would blow up’ their salary structure by signing Deniz Undav on a permanent basis from Brighton and Hove Albion this summer.
That’s according to Sky Sports Germany, who say there are two crucial components to be worked out before Undav can join the club permanently.
They explain that Stuttgart have an option to sign the Brighton striker permanently for a fee in the region of €20m and sports director Fabian Wohlgemuth and manager Sebastien Hoeneß are happy to pay that for him.
The bigger issue is with his wages, with Undav determined to be the top earner at the club and demanding a salary of €5m per year.
That ‘would blow up’ the current wage structure at the club and the German side simply can’t afford that, so negotiations between them and Undav’s representatives are needed to find a sum that suits both parties.
Fortunately, those talks have proven to be positive so far and it is quite likely that a compromise will be reached at some point.
The bigger issue is that such a transfer will need to be approved by the club’s supervisory board. Before they can do so, possible alternatives must be examined, and the financing of the deal clarified.
The latter would depend on them qualifying for the Champions League and until the club are completely certain that is happening, they won’t present a proposal to the board to be approved. Even then it could be cancelled if they don’t agree on it.
Stuttgart still have plenty of time to work a deal out as their option expires two to three weeks after the final day of the season, so there’s no rush at this point, but there are still plenty of obstacles to be cleared before they can get Undav from Brighton permanently.