VfB Stuttgart still hopeful of keeping hold of Bayern Munich target Sasa Kalajdzic

VfB Stuttgart’s Sasa Kalajdzic has been linked with a move to Bayern Munich for the better part of the past three months to become, at least one, replacement for Robert Lewandowski, who’s made it clear he wants to leave Bayern this summer. Bayern is close to agreeing on a fee with Liverpool for Sadio Mane and they’ve already signed Noussair Mazraoui from AFC Ajax, while Ryan Gravenberch is also on the verge of becoming official. Even with those three signings, Bayern is still interested in Kalajdzic, though they do face some competition from Bundesliga rivals Borussia Dortmund.

Much like Lewandowski at Bayern, Kalajdzic’s contract with Stuttgart is set to expire next summer, so they face a crucial window in determining what, exactly, his future holds. Despite the links to both Bayern and Dortmund, Stuttgart’s front office is still relatively hopeful that they can get the Austrian striker to agree on a contract extension with them.

“We are in good dialogue with Sasa and his agent. We would like to keep him at VfB Stuttgart. He is a very important key player. It’s not certain that a player with one year left on his contract will definitely leave the club,” Stuttgart CEO Alexander Wehrle said to Sky Sports (via @iMiaSanMia). “There’s a clear agreement that Sasa will not leave the club on a free transfer next year. So I’m assuming that if he doesn’t move (this summer), he’ll extend the contract.”

Both Borna Sosa and Orel Mangala have also been linked with potential moves away from Stuttgart this summer, but Stuttgart sporting director Sven Mislintat insisted that the club does not need to lose all three of Sosa, Mangala and Kalajdzic. He knows that Kalajdzic had promised he wouldn’t wind up leaving the club on a free transfer and put them in a difficult financial spot, and is hopeful that he will wind up staying beyond next season. “We’re still hoping he will stay. Sasa once said that he won’t leave us on a free, due to the support he got from us. That means if there’s no move this summer, we have legitimate hope that he will extend,” he said. “We don’t have to sell all three (Kalajdzic, Sosa, and Mangala). We still haven’t received a concrete offer for neither of them - so we’re relaxed. We have concrete price expectations for all three.”

Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images