Basel have rejected a bid believed to be around €27m from Wolfsburg for teenage striker Breel Embolo, the club’s president has confirmed.
The 18-year-old, who is represented by the brother of Stoke’s Xherdan Shaqiri, has been extensively scouted by some of Europe’s biggest clubs including Manchester United and Bayern Munich.
The Cameroon-born Embolo has scored eight times for the Swiss champions this season, including two goals in the Europa League, and has already been capped seven times by Switzerland.
“After considering all the arguments, we decided to grant VFL a rejection without negotiating the economic conditions of the offer,” Bernhard Heusler told Sport Bild.
“Of course, the player deemed VFL’s offer very interesting for him, but has accepted the decision of the clubs in a professional and fair manner.”
Wolfsburg are in the market for a new striker with their Champions League last-16 tie against Ghent to come next month. They have also been linked with a move for Manolo Gabbiadini, with reports in Italy this week stating Napoli rejected an opening bid of €25m.
The former Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner is available to leave on loan as Wolfsburg attempt to free up space on their wage bill but despite some interest from Hull and two other Championship clubs earlier in the window, the Denmark international appears set to stay in Germany for now.
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