West Ham United and Aston Villa have joined the race for Eintracht Frankfurt’s Switzerland international Djibril Sow with Sport1 claiming that the Bundesliga midfielder is hoping for a move to the Premier League.
That 6-1 thrashing by a Goncalo Ramos-inspired Portugal aside, Sow can still look back on his performances over in Qatar with a great deal of pride.
If Granit Xhaka is the heartbeat of this Switzerland team, then Sow is the lungs; high-energy, high-intensity with and without the ball. A smoother mover than Fred Astaire on a Hollwood dancefloor.
“It’s relatively easy to play alongside him,” explains Commerzbank Arena veteran Makoko Hasebe, via the Bundesliga website. ‘Because it feels like he has already played a thousand games in the Bundesliga.”
Aston Villa and West Ham United join race for Switzerland’s Djibril Sow
Alongside Frankfurt team-mate Jesper Lindstrom, Sow’s performances for both club and country have certainly caught the eye. Aston Villa and West Ham are latest English-based clubs to express an interest, after Arsenal, Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest.
Forest, per Blick, offered Frankfurt a £17 million fee over the summer, while putting forward a six-year deal worth £100,000-a-week. Die Adler managed to retain the services of their Europa League-winning playmaker, but his departure is starting to feel like a case of ‘when’ and not ‘if’.
Sport1 say that Sow is ‘openly aiming for England’. He is also ‘refusing’ to extend a contract which expires in 2024. As such, Frankfurt will know that, unless they can twist Sow’s arm, the 25-year-old’s market value will drop considerably over the next 18 months or so.
It is believed, however, that offers below £25 million are unlikely to be considered in January at any rate.
“We don’t want to lose any players in the winter,” says Frankfurt director Markus Krosche.
West Ham, meanwhile, have also held talks with Marseille misfit Gerson. Aston Villa are in the market for midfield reinforcements too; Unai Emery reportedly a keen admirer of Spain international Mikel Merino.
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