Leicester City certainly cannot claim that they had no idea this could happen.
HITC reported earlier this week that the Premier League newcomers were closing in on a deal for one of Xabi Alonso’s Bundesliga champions.
Formerly a target for Arsenal and Newcastle United, Adam Hlozek has not really kicked on as expected at Bayer Leverkusen. He spent much of last season as their third-choice centre-forward behind Patrik Schick and Victor Boniface.
As such, Leverkusen were never likely to stand in his way once Leicester City submitted a bid. One that would have seen Hlozek arrive at the King Power Stadium on loan with a £15 million purchase clause in the Czech Republic international’s contract.
But it did not take much reading between the lines to realise that Hlozek was in no rush to leave German football behind. Not even for the glitz and glamour of the Premier League.
Leicester City miss out on Bayer Leverkusen’s Adam Hlozek
“I believe that the Bundesliga suits me and I definitely want to stay in Germany,” a former Sparta Prague wonderkid who once slipped through the fingers of Ajax and Manchester City told the Express recently.
So when Hoffenheim entered the running – offering Hlozek the chance to rebuild his Bundesliga career – Leicester quickly slipped down the 22-year-old’s list of priorities.
According to Sky Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg, writing on X, Hlozek decided to accept Hoffenheim’s offer on Friday rather than the one put forward by Steve Cooper’s side.
And, during his press conference ahead of this weekend’s German Super Cup clash between Leverkusen and last season’s Bundesliga runners up Stuttgart, Bayer boss Alonso has now confirmed that Hlozek’s switch to Sinsheim is on the verge of being sealed.
“Adam Hlozek didn’t train today,” the former Liverpool, Spain, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich midfeilder says, via Bayer04Xtra. “He was allowed to complete his medical (at Hoffenheim).
“I can’t tell you more than that.”
An underwhelming transfer window for The Foxes
Hlozek will become Hoffenheim’s record signing.
Pellegrino Matarazzo’s side have agreed to pay a fee pretty much identical to the one put on the table by the 2016 Premier League champions.
Missing out on Hlozek, meanwhile, continues a rather frustrating summer for Leicester. The Championship champions have brought in Facundo Buonanotte on a temporary bassis and Bobby Decordova-Reid on a free transfer, while also landing Chelsea youngster Michael Golding and last season’s loan star Abdul Fatawu.
Caleb Okoli, meanwhile, secures a dream move to English football from Europe League winners Atalanta.
But, ahead of Monday’s top-flight curtain-raiser against Tottenham Hotspur, former Nottingham Forest boss Cooper has only a 37-year-old Jamie Vardy and a bang-out-of-form Patson Daka as his centre-forward options.
It was a problem Hlozek was supposed to solve.
The Leverkusen frontman is the second high-profile target to turn his nose up at The Foxes of late too. Matias Soule did the same before swapping Juventus for Roma to the tune of £21 million.
“There were a couple of days when I was afraid (my move to Roma) might fall through,” Soule tells Corriere dello Sport. “And I had tears in my eyes.
“(Coach Daniele) De Rossi called me to reassure me and to convince me. ‘Mister, you convinced me from the first message,’ I told him jokingly. In the end, everything went well, thanks to the significant investment by the owners to bring me to the Capital.
“Being here is wonderful. The negotiations were long. I was anxious about not being able to arrive but everything went well. The Friedkins (Roma’s owners) really wanted me. I immediately understood their ambition for this club and where they want to take it.
“And now I’m here, I couldn’t have asked for anything better.
“(Roma) wanted me so much that it was impossible to say no,” the Argentina Under 20 international adds. “Their desire to have me pushed me to consider only this opportunity, even though I had others in the Premier League with Leicester, who had called me.”
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