Bayer Leverkusen reject €8m Saudi bid for Granit Xhaka, Matěj Kovář deal contains surprises | OneFootball

Sport Bild reports that Bayer Leverkusen have rejected an €8m Neom SC offer for Granit Xhaka. In the ongoing negotiations between the Saudi outfit and the Bundesliga club it still may be only a matter of time before a transfer is finalized. Neom have offered Xhaka a generous salary and Leverkusen have grown comfortable with potentially allowing their 32-year-old talisman to depart.

Kicker recently reported that the Leverkusen front office believes that Aleix Garcia, Robert Andrich, and Exequiel Palacios can effectively compensate for Xhaka at this stage. A recent Kicker report appearing today, however, does contain some interesting new information.

According to Kicker, Germany’s red company team now apparently want €20m for Xhaka. This contradicts earlier reports suggesting Leverkusen valued the Swiss veteran at €8-15m. Neom can probably still finance the deal.

B04 sporting director Simon Rolfes first deflected questions on Xhaka before then confirming that matters could move fast.

“There is interest,” Rolfes said from the team’s training camp in Rio de Janeiro. “but nothing has become concrete yet.

“We’re now in the phase where we’re finalizing the squad,” Rolfes nevertheless continued. “Granit plays an important role in this, so it’s definitely not something that will take the entire transfer window.

“The squad should be nearing 95 percent completion at this phase of camp,” Rolfes concluded. “Granit is an important part of that. That’s why there will definitely be a quick decision.“

Rolfes’ words strongly suggest that the two clubs will come to terms eventually. In semi-related news on the Leverkusen departure front, die Werkself did end up finalizing Matěj Kovář’s move to PSV Eindhoven earlier today.

Interestingly enough, it proved to be the case that Dutch news reports on what was holding up the deal were correct. Leverkusen arranged a loan, not a sale, of the former Manchester United keeper.

Kicker reports that the loan arrangement does contain an automatic purchase option that will be easily triggered once Kovář reaches a certain number of appearances.

This is merely an accounting trick.

With this option, Bayer is deferring the receipt of the Kovar millions until 2026.

GGFN | Peter Weis