One of the Bundesliga's best talents is available this summer with Borussia Dortmund seemingly at the front of the queue, but will ongoing talks of outgoing players cost the Bundesliga runners-up the opportunity to secure their man?
Where will Fisnik Asllani end up this summer?
Following on from a successful first full season in the Bundesliga with Hoffenheim, Fisnik Asllani is deemed hot property by a lot of clubs in Europe, with the established frontrunner for his signature being Borussia Dortmund for some time now, but with delays slowing down their ability to make progress on the transfer, rivals sense an opportunity to swoop in and take the Kosovo starlet from under their noses.
Borussia Dortmund’s interest in Fisnik Asllani dates back to last summer, off the back of a successful loan away from Hoffenheim to Elversberg in the Bundesliga 2. He scored 19 goals and 9 assists in Germany’s 2nd tier and attracted the interest of Borussia Dortmund, but he chose to remain at Hoffenheim, signing a new contract with the club.
However, when he signed that contract, a release clause was inserted into the deal, at a reported valuation of €30 million, meaning anyone who wants to sign Fisnik Asllani wouldn’t even need to negotiate with Hoffenheim over a transfer fee.
The problem for Borussia Dortmund is two things. Firstly, it seems that Fisnik Asllani's transfer would hinge on how Serhou Guirassy’s future plays out this summer. It has been widely reported that he is of interest to the Turkish side Fenerbahce, however no official offer has been submitted for Dortmund’s star striker.
Brett Davis-Imagn ImagesFurthermore, Serhou Guirassy’s brother, who is also his agent, has been offering him to Saudi Pro League clubs as well. Serhou Guirassy, like Fisnik Asllani, also has a release clause, but this is only able to be triggered by top clubs like Liverpool and Manchester United; neither Fenerbahce nor Saudi Pro League teams fall into this bracket.
This all leads to the issue that Borussia Dortmund seem unwilling to commit to spending $30 million on Fisnik Asllani unless Serhou Guirassy leaves. But if recent reports are also to be believed, Borussia Dortmund could find themselves on a ticking clock with a fellow Bundesliga rival also keen on a deal for Fisnik Asllani.
That club is RB Leipzig, who are also interested in a deal for the Hoffenheim forward. But despite their interest, it turns out that RB Leipzig has a similar issue to Borussia Dortmund. RB Leipzig already has three strikers on the books, so they would need to sell one of them before they can make concrete inroads in securing the signing of Fisnik Asllani.
So it seems that with both clubs currently on standby, waiting for their own pieces to fall into place in order to pursue a move for Fisnik Asllani, the future of the Kosovo international remains unclear.
The question is, can Borussia Dortmund get their ducks in a row before RB Leipzig can, or will another club come into the conversation and force Borussia Dortmund to act quickly?
