FC Mainz want the German media, and therefore the wider world, to know an English club has made a €35m offer for Jean-Philippe Gbamin, there’s a chance it was Arsenal… and it’s been refused.
Such a transfer would be a record for the German club and the club’s manager Sandro Schwarz is quoted by Bild as saying: “He may dream of England. The situation is clear, he stays.”
Rouven Schröder, the club’s sports director, is then quoted as saying: “Jean-Philippe is not on the market. We too have some ambitions, and he’s a big part of our plans for the new season. There’s no ifs and buts!”
Bild then quote Schröder as saying that “in the past few days” there’s been a huge offer from England.
This all makes Mainz look strong and committed in front of their supporters, and heightens the player’s perceived value for any clubs thinking of making a move.
Schröder wouldn’t confirm the offer, which Bild put at €35m, was from Arsenal, but Bild suggest it could well have been.
Perhaps he wouldn’t because Arsenal could then deny it and ruin the transfer PR of a €35m offer being knocked back.
This all helps build the midfielder’s value up for a future sale, with Bild’s subsequent reports now likely to contain lines like ‘Jean-Philippe Gbamin, who Mainz rejected €35m for…’
We’ve all been here before.
