Wednesday, 26th June, 2013
Hannover have seemingly taken the lead in the race to sign Arsenal centre-back Johan Djourou, by claiming that they have begun talks with his parent club to buy the player.
The 26-year-old had been on loan with Hannover, and managed to impress enough for the club to request that he stay on further.
However, Hamburg have also expressed an interest in the Swiss international, who managed 14 appearances since moving to the Bundesliga in the January transfer window.
Earlier today, Hamburg sporting director Oliver Kreuzer had announced he was "very optimistic" about signing Djourou, who he claimed wanted to play at the Imtech Arena.
relatedNewsStory
But Hannover have hit back, with their sporting director Dirk Dufner telling Bild: "We are in talks with Arsenal, which are on the right track. The player must decide in which direction he wants to go.
"The player knows what he has at Hannover. We have done everything we could do so that he decides in our favour. I hope it’s enough."
Djourou was initially part of the youth set-up with the Gunners, but made his way upwards to the senior squad with three years spent under Arsene Wenger’s watch.
Sent out on loan, he returned for another five years before joining Hannover earlier this year.
Like betting on football? You simply must check out Inside Bet!
