Dortmund balk at £8m for Koller
last updated Thursday 17th May 2001, 12:57 PM
Jan Koller's much-talked about
move from Anderlecht took another twist on Thursday when Borussia Dortmund's
general manager Michael Zorc revealed they would not meet the Belgian club's
asking price.
Dortmund became the favourites to sign Koller this week after the giant
Czech revealed that a switch to the Bundesliga outfit would represent "a
greater sporting challenge". And Koller's agent Pavel Paska travelled
to Germany yesterday to begin talks with Dortmund.
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Jan
Koller towering over all
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"It's true, negotiations are underway,"
revealed Zorc. "We are certainly interested in buying Koller, but there's
still a long way to go."
Zorc, however, insisted that Anderlecht would have to lower their asking
price before any agreement was reached. "I can assure you we are not
going to pay the £8 million Anderlecht are asking for," claimed
the Dortmund chief.
"I have an agreement until 2005," Koller was quoted as telling
several newspapers. "I hope Anderlecht and Dortmund will quickly come
to an agreement."
However, both Dortmund and Fulham have made it clear they will not be held
to ransom by Koller's or Anderlecht's demands.
"Claudio Pizarro (the Werder Bremen striker) is still a candidate for
us," Zorc explained. "We are in talks, but I believe that he wants
to head south to Bayern Munich or even more south (Spain and Itlay)."
While Fulham coach Jean Tigana told Belgium daily Het Laatste Nieuws: "We
believe that Pavel Paska [Koller's agent] wants to play games with us and
Dortmund, but nobody plays games with us. We have three or four alternatives
for the strikers job."
Koller claimed on Monday that he was a big fan of English football. "England
has the best stadiums and atmosphere. I've spoken about it to Patrik Berger
and Pavel Srnicek, who both warmly recommended playing in England,"
said Koller.
But the following day he muddied the waters. "A short time ago, everything
was clear as I had an agreement with Fulham and I was just waiting to sign
the contract," he explained.
"Then I learnt through various sources that Dortmund were interested
in me. I also heard that financially the offer is about the same as in England.
Given that, the bigger sporting challenge lies with Dortmund."
Dortmund have qualified for next season's Champions' League, whereas Fulham,
who only won promotion to the Premiership this season, cannot play in Europe
until at least the season after next.
Koller has consulted his Czech Republic team-mate Tomas Rosicky, who plays
for Dortmund.
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Source onefootball
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