Liverpool and Everton have been tipped to make a raid on Red Bull Salzburg this summer though the club’s sporting director is not surprised by the interest in both Dominik Szoboszlai and Hwang Hee Chan, speaking to Sky Austria.
The first trophy parade of the socially distanced era made for strange viewing but, deep down, Salzburg fans will not care about the rather muted nature of the celebrations that followed Saturday’s Austrian Cup thrashing of Lustenau.
Szoboszlai kick-started the 5-0 rout early on with a Cristiano Ronaldo-style rocket of a free-kick, enhancing his growing reputation as a set-piece specialist.
South Korea international Hwang Hee Chan might not have got his name on the scoresheet but, taking his tally of assists to 18 for the season, he too played a major role as Jesse Marsch became the first US coach to win a title on European soil.
And, after losing both Erling Haaland and Takumi Minamino in the January transfer, Salzburg are under no illusions that two more members of Marsch’s formidable forward line could also be heading out the door soon.
“Good young players will always have their market,” sporting director Christoph Freund said simply but ominously when asked specifically about Szoboszlai and Hwang.
Arsenal and Leicester City have been linked with the former, according to Football London and The Sun.
Hwang, meanwhile, could be on his way to Everton if the Liverpool Echo is to be believed, although he will cost a lot more than Merseyside rivals Liverpool splashed out for Minamino.
Freund made it clear to the Salzburger Nachrichten recently that offers of less than £34 million will be thrown straight into the garbage can.
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