Hamburg are desperate to hang on to Stephan Ambrosius after the reported Celtic and Leeds United target rejected a new contract at the Bundesliga.2 challengers, coach Daniel Thioune has told BILD.
A proud old club known as ‘the Dinosaur’ in Germany might be clawing its way back from the brink of extinction but, as ever, that dreaded meteor is on collision course for the Volksparkstadion.
Successive defeats mean Hamburg have lost their place at the top of the table.
And sudden doubts surrounding the future of one of their star players could hardly have been timed any worse, with the January transfer window hurtling into view.
Ghana SoccerNet reports Leeds director of football Victor Orta has his sights firmly fixed on another rough diamond – Germany U21 international Ambrosius.
BILD, meanwhile, reports a Celtic side that has conceded 23 goals in its last ten games – including Sunday’s 2-0 home defeat to Ross County in the Scottish League Cup – have expressed an interest in a classy and commanding centre-half.
Ambrosius has been one of the first names on Hamburg’s team sheet but, having rejected the chance to extend a contract that expires in July 2021 (MoPo), there’s genuine concern over an impending departure.
“Stephan has a lot of potential he can exploit even better. He can still learn a lot,” Thioune says of his home-grown youngster.
“He is a boy from Hamburg. We want to develop players. If a Hamburg boy stays with us, we’ll be happy about it.”
Fortunately for Hamburg, who were relegated in 2017 after 55 successive seasons in the Bundesliga, Ambrosius is keen to stay.
His agent admitted last week that, if fresh terms can be agreed, the 21-year-old defender would gladly sign on the dotted line (BILD).
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