Brighton and Hove Albion’s chances of signing Saarbrücken’s Luca Kerber have been handed a blow, with both the club and his agent insisting he won’t be moving.
That’s according to BILD, who cover interest in the player today and comments from Saarbrücken’s manager Rüdiger Ziehl and the player’s agent Guido Nickolay regarding a possible transfer.
Brighton have long been linked with a move for Kerber, with a report at the beginning of this year making it clear they needed to pay €2m to secure his signature.
That was followed by Kerber himself speaking out on the matter, before a report earlier this month stated that Brighton were back in the picture and eyeing up a deal for the 21-year-old.
BILD confirm their interest, naming the Seagulls among a host of clubs to have ‘watched’ the midfielder over the last two years.
They explain that a transfer this summer had looked likely given Kerber’s current contract runs until 2024 and he hasn’t extended, meaning Saarbrücken need to collect a fee this summer or lose him for free next year.
However, it seems that isn’t a concern to either Saarbrücken, with their manager Rüdiger Ziehl insisting that “Luca will stay with us” and being backed up by his agent Guido Nickolay, who added “Luca will fulfil his contract in Saarbrücken.”
That doesn’t mean a future transfer is off the cards, though, with Ziehl also admitting “every player is for sale. At the end of the day, an association is a commercial enterprise. There’s always an amount to think about.”
The idea, according to BILD, is to pursue a new contract and then if Kerber doesn’t sign, to ‘start thinking’ about a move in January instead.
