Stade Reims sets conditions
©IMAGO
Bayer Leverkusen is apparently working on signing a new defender with great prospects. According to a report from “L’Équipe”, the Werkself have made an offer to French second division club Stade Reims for 20-year-old Abdoul Koné. The right-footer is worth 7.5 million euros to Bayer 04 including bonus payments. However, not enough for Stade Reims, who are said to have rejected the offer.
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A. Kone |
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Koné, who has played 16 league games over 1,263 minutes and contributed two goals this season, would not be intended as an immediate solution after the injury-related loss of Edmond Tapsoba (26), but rather as an investment in the future. The 2024 double winner would leave the youngster, who is listed in the TM database with a market value of €5 million, on loan in Reims for the rest of the season if a transfer occurs.
Stade Reims wants to keep Bayer target Koné for the rest of the season
Bayer offered the Ligue 2 club a fixed amount of 6.5 million euros and another million euros in bonuses. A 50 percent resale share should also be part of a transfer agreement. Stade Reims has made it a condition that Koné plays for his training club until the summer before he starts a new adventure. AS Monaco, which has been interested for a long time, is also still in the race for the defensive player and wants to make an offer like the Bundesliga club.
Top performer Tapsoba Bayer is not available in the short term because he reported back from Burkina Faso’s Africa Cup round of 16 against Ivory Coast (0-3) with a thigh injury. According to “Bild”, the likelihood that Bayer 04 will add more players during the winter break is rather low. “We basically always monitor the market,” Leverkusen’s sports director Simon Rolfes was quoted as saying by the paper.
