Sevilla have made Borussia Dortmund an offer for Denmark midfielder Thomas Delaney, according to BT, in attempts to beat Crystal Palace, Norwich and Southampton to a deal.
Delaney is a hot-topic in the transfer market this summer after helping his national side reach the Euro 2020 semi-finals. The Frederiksberg-native started all six fixtures, and scored the fifth-minute opener in a 2-1 quarter-final win over the Czech Republic.
Now, Sevilla are negotiating a fee with Dortmund for Delaney, and have already put €4m (£3.5m) on the table. The La Liga outfit view him as a low-cost option to add experience to Julen Lopetegui’s engine room, as the 29-year-old is in the final year of his BVB contract.
But Sevilla may struggle to convince Dortmund to sell Delaney for £3.5m, with Crystal Palace, Norwich and Southampton also interested. That’s according to Bild, who also note the Bundesliga outfit want £9m, after paying Werder Bremen €20m (£17m) in 2018.
Delaney has since fallen out of favour at the Westfalenstadion, yet the 60-cap star will not be a guaranteed starter at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan stadium, either. The Denmark ace would instead arrive expecting to fight for minutes at last season’s fourth-placed finishers.
Lopetegui wants additional depth in the Sevilla midfield after qualifying for the Champions League. The Andalusian outfit also target progressing in the domestic cup competitions and challenging for another top-four league finish this term.
With Crystal Palace, Norwich and Southampton also in the mix, Sevilla may have to up their bid to sign Delaney from Dortmund, though. Despite losing a starting role under Lucien Favre and interim coach Edin Terzic, he still opened 23 of his 34 appearances last season.
Palace or Southampton can sign ‘important’ Sevilla target Delaney from Dortmund
Any hopes Delaney had of saving his Dortmund career under new manager Marco Rose took a dent last Saturday. The former Borussia Monchengladbach coach left him on the bench until the 85th-minute against third-tier side Wehen Wiesbaden in the DFB Pokal.
Now, Sevilla seem to be lowballing Dortmund into selling Delaney, despite Crystal Palace, Norwich and Southampton’s interest. Either of the Premier League trio should be able to better the La Liga outfit’s offer. And, in doing so, strengthen their respective midfield units.
However, the allure of Champions League football and potential titles at Sevilla may prove more appealing for Delaney. Especially compared to what would be on offer at the trio of Premier League sides. One newly-promoted, and two who finished last term 14th and 15th.
While Terzic started Delaney 15 times while in charge at Dortmund, he praised the Crystal Palace, Southampton and Sevilla target. He also handed him the captain’s armband against Paderborn in the Last 16 of the DFB Pokal which BVB won. Delaney assisted twice in the 3-2 win at home to Paderborn on route to a five-assist haul last season, too.
“Thomas Delaney always performs well,” Terzic said, via Bundesliga.com. “He’s definitely a very important player, who stabilises our defence and is always capable of destabilising our opponents. That’s very important in this position. We’re lucky to have a player like him.”
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