Dimitri Oberlin has been scouted by Madrid and Juventus after starring for Basel in the Champions League – and he might have slipped through Manchester United’s net.
If FC Basel have been the surprise packages of this season’s Champions League group stage, then their red-hot striker Dimitri Oberlin has been arguably the competition’s breakthrough star after three games played.
As things stand, perennial Swiss champions Basel are second behind Manchester United in Group A after thumping Portuguese champions Benfica 5-0 at St Jakub’s Park – the biggest Champions League win in the club’s history – before earning a deserved 2-0 win at CSKA Moscow.
And at the heart of their success is a rangy, 20-year-old striker. Dimitri Oberlin looks to be Manchester United’s biggest threat in the first round right now – though if Jose Mourinho’s side had got their way, the Swiss youngster would be representing a different team in Group A.
Oberlin, who scored twice against Benfica and once in Russia, admitted that he had the chance to move to Old Trafford from FC Zurich in 2014 – only to choose Austrian side Red Bull Salzburg instead a few months later.
“Yes, they had been watching me – the change almost happened. In the end I decided otherwise,” Oberlin, who moved to Basel on loan from Salzburg in the summer, told Spox. “My parents had allowed me to transfer, but I did not.
“I would have started at the U18, the way into the first team would have been far. The competition would have been massive.”
Three years on, Oberlin could be on his way to a European giant sooner rather than later. Calciomercato reports that both Real Madrid and Juventus sent scouts to watch Benfica against CSKA on Wednesday – with Oberlin the reason for their trip.
The report adds that the Swiss youngster harbours dreams of representing Manchester United some day, however, and will be desperate to make a positive impression on Mourinho when his side travels to St Jakub’s Park in late November.
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