Borussia Monchengladbach plan to cash in on Liverpool and Manchester City target Denis Zakaria this summer with the midfielder available at a knock-down fee of £18 million, according to BILD.
And for Gladbach’s much-admired sporting director Max Eberl, this feels like a no-win situation.
Either he sells one of Europe’s most promising central midfielders on the cheap or he risks letting him go for nothing. And, after Zakaria refused to extend a contract due to expire in summer 2022, it seems Eberl has chosen the first option.
According to BILD, Gladbach hoped to sell the Switzerland international for a fee in excess of the £35 million Arsenal paid for Granit Xhaka in 2016.
It’s fair to say those hopes have now gone up in smoke.
These days, Zakaria is available for as little as £18 million, his price tag dropping like a stone because of the unfortunate combination of an expiring contract and injury issues.
The 24-year-old missed eight months of action with a serious knee injury recently and hasn’t been the same irresistible force since returning to action.
That doesn’t appear to have put off two of England’s biggest clubs, however.
Sky claims Man City are watching Zakaria closely as Fernandinho closes in on his 36th birthday.
Liverpool, meanwhile, are in the market for a Gini Wijnaldum replacement and Zakaria, at his barnstorming best, shares the Dutchman’s versatility, strength and acceleration in the centre of the park (BILD).
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