Bayer Leverkusen director Rudi Voller has delivered a blow to Premier League sides Arsenal and Everton, telling Sport BILD that Edmond Tapsoba and Moussa Diaby will not be leaving the Bundesliga this summer.
Just a week before Christmas, Peter Bosz’s Leverkusen were sitting pretty at the top of the Bundesliga table, a 4-0 thrashing of Koln seemingly announcing their arrival as genuine challengers to Bayern Munich’s throne.
Six months later, Bosz was gone, Bayern were champions again, and Leverkusen were stuck in sixth.
A disastrous run of form after the turn of the year meant a club popularly known as ‘Neverkusen’, due to a tendency to let glory slip through their fingers, had shot themselves in the foot again.
But despite missing out on Champions League football, let alone the Bundesliga title, Leverkusen are determined to keep a talented crop of players together amid rising interest from the rest of Europe.
Disappointment for Arsenal and Everton?
“We have to see what can be done after this difficult year without spectators with the economic pressures created by the pandemic,” said Voller, the former Germany manager.
“I can say about Tapsoba: like Florian Wirtz and Moussa Diaby, he extended his contract for the long term. Basically, we have no intention of making any of these players – unless an immoral offer comes along.
“But that won’t happen this summer. We want to have a little more fun with these players.”
Tuttomercatoweb reported two weeks ago that Arsenal were closing in on a deal that would have seen Tapsoba, a highly-talented £35 million-rated centre-half, join Mikel Arteta’s squad this summer.
Voller’s comments, however, appear to rule that out for now.
Everton, meanwhile, had allegedly made contact with Leverkusen to ask about Diaby, a rapid winger who was let go by Paris Saint-Germain (Foot Mercato).
There are no prizes for guessing how Leverkusen responded to an enquiry about one of the Bundesliga’s most exciting forwards.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
