Arrivals
It was discovered today that Sardar Azmoun is now a follower of Bayer Leverkusen's Instagram page! Whilst this in itself does not speak for an imminent transfer, it does at least speak for us that he would rather choose to follow us than Olympique Lyonnais, the club which has recently been the front-runner for his signature. Were we to ever sell Alario, we would need a replacement and Azmoun is a player with which we have been in contact with for years now. We are also the only club, he stated last autumn, that he ever considered joining. As of yet, no media sources have started reporting our interest again, but given how privately we do our business, perhaps it isn't surprising. Thank you to @CFLMSO on Twitter for bringing this to my attention.
Departures
Emrehan Gedikli has officially extended his contract by a year until 2023.
Kicker report that CFC Genoa and Nadiem Amiri have agreed personal terms with each other and that a deal is near completion with the two clubs just negotiating a loan with a purchase obligation in the event that Genoa avoids relegation to Serie B. Were that to happen, a fee equivalent to the amount Leverkusen paid Hoffenheim will be due - €9m. Even if the clubs agree, the transfer would still be put on hold until we get a replacement. Apparently on Wednesday, Amiri only completed a warm-up with the rest of the squad and completed a less intense session with Aranguiz and Baumgartlinger, both of whom are on their comeback from injury - could that be to ensure his safety for an upcoming medical?
Gianluca Di Marzio claim that Hellas Verona, yes another Serie A club, are close to an agreement with Panos Retsos. Nothing is yet known about the price we are asking but given Retsos was bought for a staggering €17.5m in 2017, an extremely heavy loss is to be expected. He would join a very large contingent of Greek players - Vangelis, Tachtsidis, Moras and Christodoulopoulos. Unlike with Amiri and Alario, no players would need to replace our 5th choice centre back.
The Daily Mail brought out news that Mitchell Bakker, our flying left back from PSG we bought only last summer, is already being eyed by Newcastle United. Apparently talks are already ongoing between the Leverkusen and the Premier League club. The Daily Mail write that they will try and offer us a 'quick profit' - given that we have only just signed him and have likely little interest in selling, it would take quite the offer for anything to happen.
Finally, Luis Merlo tweeted that Palmeiras should not be done with Lucas Alario. The Sao Paolo team have sent yet another offer, a loan fee of €2m with option to buy of €12m. This is a stark improvement on their last which was a €1m loan fee and €8.5m option to buy. Whilst this is very appealing, the fact it is still only an option to buy rather than an obligation, might be the sticking point to a deal happening.
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