Monday, 23rd September, 2013
Juventus and Arsenal are shaping up to battle for Basel centre-back Fabian Schar, with the 21-year-old popular in both Turin and London.
Schar was snapped up by the Swiss champions only last year, making the move from second tier minnows FC Wil and quickly enjoying a fairy tale rise to prominence, which has since seen him become a regular fixture in Ottmar Hitzfeld's Switzerland squad.
"We bought him from Wil in 2012 and many wondered who he was", Basel's sporting director Rudi Zbinden told Inside Futbol.
"Now he is a Swiss international and a regular in Ottmar Hitzfeld's team."
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While Basel would not be keen to lose Schar so soon into his spell at St. Jakob-Park, they could find themselves tested by big-money bids from Juventus and Arsenal, who are both fans of the defender.
And Arsenal and Juventus have not had to pull out all the stops to scout Schar, with the defender's ability on display in the Champions League this term, starring in a recent win over Chelsea, while last season he helped the club to reach the semi-finals of the Europa League, knocking out Tottenham Hotspur along the way.
The Swiss champions have regularly developed talents and sold them on for large profits, with Aleksandar Dragovic heading to Dynamo Kyiv earlier this summer for €9m, having cost Basel €1m to sign from Austria Vienna.
Schar is under contract with Basel until 2015, however his contract contains the option to extend that by a further 12 months.
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