VfB Stuttgart manager Sebastien Hoeneß has insisted there has been no change in the situation regarding Brighton and Hove Albion striker Deniz Undav, despite Roberto de Zerbi’s recent comments.
Sport 1 cover a response from the German manager today as the games around the striker appear to be starting ahead of the summer transfer window.
Undav has been shining in Germany this season after arriving on loan from Brighton last summer, with 15 goals and eight assists in 23 games in the Bundesliga and a prolific partnership with Serhou Guirassy earning him plaudits and a call-up to the Germany squad.
Reports about his future have been non-stop for months as Stuttgart hold a €20m clause to make his deal permanent but are yet to take it up.
Indeed, they’ve been almost talking themselves out of paying it, with a report this week indicating he could end up costing €40m once his wages are factored in.
That saw Brighton manager Roberto de Zerbi pulled into matters this week, with him going as far as to state that Undav would be returning to their squad at the end of the season.
That seems to be news to Hoeneß and everyone at Stuttgart, though, with him insisting the situation remains clear despite those comments from the Brighton boss.
“Everything is relatively clear,” he is quoted as saying on the transfer situation, before adding “he is an absolute top player who is having an outstanding season.”
The reality, though, is that matters are far from clear. While Stuttgart have their option, recent reports have been building a sort of litany of excuses for them not to activate it.
Perhaps De Zerbi’s comments this week were something of a warning shot in that regard, planned to tempt the German side out and into the deal he and his team want.
Either way, the managerial games seemed to have started and joined the media reports from Germany, so expect more of this moving forwards.
