Nottingham Forest and Derby County have been handed a boost in their pursuit of a prolific striker, with Darmstadt coach Markus Anfang telling BILD that Serdar Dursun could leave the Bundesliga.2 outfit this summer.
After a disappointing campaign on both sides of the East Midland divide, it doesn’t take a genius to work out what Forest and Derby will be looking for when the transfer window opens.
In 37 games, Chris Hughton’s side have found the net just 29 times, with Lewis Grabban a shadow of the striker who took the Championship by storm during his debut season at the City Ground.
Things are even worse at Derby. Wayne Rooney’s side are glancing nervously over their shoulder, a record of 27 goals in 37 matches making the Rams the division’s third-lowest scorers.
With that in mind, Dursun is unlikely to be short of offers from England’s second tier this summer.
“We have signalled that we would like to keep him. (Whether he stays or not) is his decision alone. Everyone should plan their own career,” Anfang admitted when asked about the Darmstadt favourite.
“It’s a little less likely that he will stay because he scores so often.”
In 27 matches, Dursun has found the net 17 times this term, while setting up eight more for his grateful teammates.
Derby made three bids for the Hamburg-born striker last summer – the biggest coming in at £1 million (Hesenchau) – while Nottingham Forest were also linked via the Mirror (5 October, page 43).
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
