Crystal Palace and Hull City have been pushed to the front of the queue for Darío Osorio, and Midtjylland have now made their position clear. They have already rejected several offers for their stars.
That comes right after Palace and Hull were named as the latest English clubs showing interest in Osorio.
Chilean outlet La Tercera reports Fulham, West Ham United and Brighton have all had scouts following the Chile international.
Those three can be considered secondary to Palace and Hull for now. The latter pair were specifically named this week as clubs around the 22-year-old.
Midtjylland have already rejected offers
Friday’s edition of Chilean newspaper La Tercera brings comments Steinlein made to Danish outlet Bold.
The Midtjylland president doesn’t identify the clubs behind the rejected proposals. He is also discussing Osorio and teammate Franculino Djú together.
Still, his comments make clear that Midtjylland have already had opportunities to sell their stars this summer.
“We’ve said no to several offers for both players. We’ve done that because the price hasn’t been right,” Steinlein said.
“We have to get the price we’ve set for the players if we’re going to sell them. Because we’re talking about two very talented players.”
La Tercera states Midtjylland want €20m (£17.2m) for Osorio. That’s at the bottom end of the €20-25m (£17.2-21.5m) range mentioned in Denmark on Thursday.
Steinlein also appears relaxed about leaving business until the final days of the window.
“First the big clubs do their shopping, then it trickles down through the football system, to the rest of us,” he explained.
“If we sell Franculino and Osorio, it’s clear we have to replace them. We have to build on our team.”
That perhaps explains why Midtjylland aren’t rushing to accept a lower figure. They still expect the market to move and believe Osorio is valuable enough to justify waiting.
More Premier League attention for Osorio
La Tercera also adds Fulham, West Ham and Brighton to the picture. The Chilean newspaper says scouts from the three clubs have shown particular interest in Osorio.
There’s no suggestion at this stage that any of them have submitted offers. They therefore sit behind Palace and Hull in terms of the latest developments around the 22-year-old.
Several other English clubs have been linked with him at different stages over recent months. Arsenal, Liverpool, Everton, Leeds and Manchester United have all featured in the story.
For now, Midtjylland aren’t revealing who has actually put money on the table. There is also an interesting difference in tone inside the Danish club.
Steinlein sounds prepared to wait for the right price. Manager Mike Tullberg seems much more certain about what happens next.
“I’m convinced they’ll leave this month. I’m pretty sure the two players won’t be available to our club when the transfer window closes,” Tullberg said.
That confidence makes the next few days worth watching for Palace and Hull. Midtjylland have already turned proposals down, but their own manager expects Osorio to be gone when the window shuts.
