Report: Leipzig negotiating on dual fronts to complete Alexander Sørloth transfer
Matters get hairer still in the complex arbitrations to get the Norwegian striker into an RB Leipzig uniform.
Negotiations continue in the effort to bring Norwegian striker Alexander Sørloth to the Bundesliga. German footballing magazine Kicker reports that Julian Nagelsmann and RB Leipzig currently navigate a set of simultaneous negotiations with both Sørloth’s parent club Crystal Palace and his current home of Trabzonspor in Turkey.
Legal reasons necessitate this. The buy-out option in Sørloth’s contract isn’t triggered until 2021. Hence, the player is caught in some sort of limbo. Palace can recall him, but then must pay fines for breaking the loan agreement. Lepizig can potentially compensate the English club for this rather than deal directly with the Turkish club.
It was conjectured some weeks ago that Sørloth himself could force a move back to the parent club. Evidently, the fact that he hasn’t been able to trigger this move over the past three weeks means such a contractual clause likely doesn’t exist.
Nagelsmann has made no secret about the fact that Sørloth remains his top target in the search to replace departing attackers Timo Werner and Patrik Schick. He’s even publicly stated that he’s willing to pay more than Sørloth’s estimated €20 million worth. Sørloth himself is reported to have agreed to terms with the German Saxon side and wishes to move to Leipzig.
Kicker reports that opened with a lowball offer than was quickly rejected by the Turkish side, who are said to be seeking upwards of €25-€28 million. A pushback of this deal to the January transfer window, when matters might get a little simpler, remains a possibility.