Lecce technical director Pantaleo Corvino has revealed there is “so much interest” in midfielder Morten Hjulmand after Southampton made a bid for him in January.
Southampton were linked with a move for the 23-year-old throughout the January transfer window as they spent big to try and improve their squad to avoid relegation.
Reports at the claimed that they had seen an €11m bid rejected at one point but it was later revealed that the bid was actually €13m.
That was not enough for Lecce to consider a sale as the Denmark international is already valued at €20m and is seeing his value continue to rise amid impressive performances in Serie A this season.
That has seen several clubs in Europe looking at a potential deal in the summer, with reports even claiming that West Ham and Brighton are interested in him.
Whether a transfer happens remains to be seen, with Southampton the only club so far to have actually made a bid for him.
They’ll almost certainly face competition if they revive that in the summer, something Corvino is freely willing to admit.
“I can neither deny nor confirm that the big ones have been looking for Hjulmand,” Calciomercato.it report him saying.
“We all have to be focused now, but I cannot deny that there is so much interest in him and those clubs that have approached us, we have had to stop them.
“Now there is the goal of salvation, and we don’t want any distractions from anyone. We have a primary goal that will be very important for the future life of the club: to consolidate in Serie A.
“This can be done by maintaining this way of working, our priority is to get to 4 June and make this miracle happen.”
