Report: Dynamo Moscow and VfB Stuttgart consider Erik Thommy-Maximilian Philipp loan swap
Two sources report that VfB Stuttgart and Dynamo Moscow are considering a loan swap not unlike that of the Ante Rebic-Andre Silva deal concluded by Eintracht Frankfurt and AC Milan last summer. Frankfurt are also linked with the player Dynamo wishes to offload, central midfielder Maximilian Philipp.
| Maximilian Philipp. | Photo: Анна Нэсси, Soccer.ru, CC BY-SA 3.0 |
Two Moscow clubs are said to be negotiating with die Schwaben to secure the 26-year-old’s services. Dynamo Moscow’s interest is confirmed whereas the identity of the second club remains a mystery.
Thommy is a German citizen whose parents emigrated from Kazakhstan. It is such that Russian clubs, who are by law only allowed to field a certain number of foreign players, are aggressively courting him. Thommy could be easily fast-tracked for Russian citizenship.
Transfermarkt.de reports that Dynamo Moscow may perhaps be attempting to arrange a straight swap with Stuttgart. Former Freiburg and Borussia Dortmund striker Maximilian Philipp has not exactly worked out as hoped after transferring to Dynamo.
Transmarkt Russian correspondent Artjom Zavodnyk is quoted as saying that Dynamo are considering this option, though it seems an unlikely deal based on the fact that the two players fill radically different roles.
A sale of Thommy would have been unthinkable even a few weeks ago. The reporting of both sources nonetheless suggests that Stuttgart could either get close to his estimated €6 million value or obtain a higher caliber anchoring midfielder on a reciprocal loan-swap.
Frankfurt are also said to be in the running for Philipp's services.