VfB Stuttgart are eyeing glory in the Europa League this season, in the hope of keeping Jamie Leweling out of Bournemouth’s hands.
That’s according to SportBILD. The German newspaper cover the club today and explain how they need the money to help keep their top players come the summer.
According to their information, there are several players in the current Stuttgart squad who have aspirations of playing internationally.
That means the German club face a competition to keep them if they’re not successful this season.
Champions League dream
They want to qualify for the Champions League and are in the race to do so. But with Bundesliga places hotly contested, Stuttgart are also turning their attention to the Europa League.
Success in that tournament could help bring in around €34m in extra revenue.
That would help them considerably in the fight to keep the likes of Leweling. He’s already been targeted by the Premier League. Nottingham Forest tried last summer, before Bournemouth put €40m on the table in the January transfer window.
The Cherries reportedly saw the 24-year-old as a potential replacement for Antoine Semenyo. He left to join Manchester City last month, and Bournemouth now have a significant gap to fill in their squad.
Bournemouth want Leweling
Leweling is, seemingly, the one they think can fill it and they were willing to spend big to secure his signature. Stuttgart and Leweling ultimately rebuffed their efforts.
But the former are expecting ‘top offers’ again this summer. If they’re to be in a position to reject them again, then either Champions League qualification or Europa League glory, which would also put them in the Champions League, may be necessary.
There’s certainly a hope for either, or both if the end of the season goes extraordinarily well. If not, then Bournemouth may be lurking once again with money to spend on their star man.