Hoffenheim Euro 2020 star Florian Grillitsch missed out on a potential move to Arsenal or Tottenham Hotspur when the covid-19 pandemic hit the transfer market last summer, according to Kicker.
Euro 2020 certainly came at a good time for this Austria international.
With just one year left on his contract at Bundesliga outfit Hoffenheim, 25-year-old Grillitsch was handed the ideal opportunity to make a name for himself on the biggest of stages, all the while drumming up interest from potential suitors across the continent.
And with Austria bowing out on Saturday – sent home by a late Italy rally in the round of 16 – it will be interesting to see what the future holds for Grillitsch between now and the end of August.
Can Arsenal or Tottenham still grab Grillitsch?
In February 2020, BILD reported Grillitsch had caught the eye of Premier League quartet Spurs, Arsenal, Newcastle United and Southampton.
Just a few weeks later, the world turned upside down and Grillitsch was stuck in Sinsheim, the £21 million release clause in his contract suddenly looking expensive to clubs hit hard by the pandemic.
Given the 6ft 2in Rolls-Royce of a midfielder hasn’t signed a new deal since then, it can only be assumed the £21 million clause still exists.
However, Hoffenheim may be forced to sell for even less than that now, given Grillitsch will be a free agent in 2022.
It’s no secret Arsenal are in the market for a box-to-box powerhouse capable of easing the burden on an overworked and seemingly exhausted Thomas Partey.
Grillitsch, who was once labelled “exceptional” by former Hoffenheim coach Julian Nagelsmann, would tick a number of boxes, although it seems the Gunners are prioritising the likes of Sambi Lokonga and Eduardo Camavinga instead.
Newcastle, meanwhile, have been scouring the market for a midfielder in the Grillitsch mould for well over a year now, having famously missed out on a club-record deal for Lille’s Boubakary Soumare.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
