Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen have rejected an approach from Tottenham for striker Lucas Alario.
That’s according to SportBild, specifically journalists Christian Falk and Sven Westerschulze, who say Jose Mourinho is keen on the forward as a backup to Harry Kane.
Spurs have been chasing a striker to back up the England forward for a while, but have pushed hardest this summer following his injury issues last season.
They have been heavily linked with a move for Napoli striker Arkadiusz Milik, yet reports in Italy indicated today that potential move has hit the rocks.
It seems likely then, they are looking elsewhere in the market, and SportsBild’s duo say that has seen them ask Bayer Leverkusen about Alario.
However, it seems the ‘request’ was dismissed out of hand, with it claimed that Rudi Völler, Leverkusen’s head of sport, ‘declined’ the approach.
That is the limit of the information Falk and Westerschulze offer at this point, failing to state what the nature of the approach from Tottenham was.
True: @SpursOfficial asked @bayer04_en for Lucas Alario (27). José Mourinho wants the striker to have a backup for Harry Kane. Rudi Völler, head of sport, declined the request (via @cfbayern and @westsven)
— Christian Falk (@cfbayern) September 30, 2020
Whatever it was, Leverkusen rejected it, which seems strange given a report yesterday from MOPO indicated that they were ‘ready’ to let the attacker go out on loan after the Argentine made it clear he was unhappy with a lack of playing time.
Indeed, his agent has openly admitted he’s looking at securing a move, so perhaps he’s been in touch with Tottenham, who are known to be chasing a striker, and that’s where this has come from.
Either way, if Spurs are genuinely interested, it seems they’ll have to do more to convince their German counterparts to sell the 27-year-old.
