Football
Stephan Uersfeld, Germany correspondent 7y

Chelsea approach for Schalke wing-back Sead Kolasinac rejected

Schalke have confirmed they have rejected Chelsea's approach to sign wing-back Sead Kolasinac.

Kolasinac, who has also been linked with Juventus, is due to be a free agent this summer and has yet to agree a new contract.

Sport Bild reported that Chelsea made a bid for the 23-year-old Bosnian, who has become a key player on the left side of Markus Weinzierl's Schalke side.

According to local newspaper WAZ, Schalke sporting executive Christian Heidel then told Bild: "Yes, there was an approach [from Chelsea], but it was off the table immediately."

Speaking to Sky Sport in Germany on Tuesday, Heidel clarified that Chelsea had not made an official bid for the player.

Schalke last week reacted to Chelsea loanee Baba Rahman's season-ending knee injury by signing Wolfsburg's Daniel Caligiuri.

Kolasinac, who joined Schalke's famous Knappenschmiede as a 17-year-old, has previously said he could imagine staying at the Veltins Arena beyond the summer, but he said in November that he was not ruling anything out.

"Many say my style of play would fit well in England," he said then. "But if I move abroad, not only the club changes, but you leave your environment, need to build something new. It's a difficult step which has to be well-considered. The gut feeling decides, and I also need to talk to my family."

It has been reported that he could seek an exit if Schalke -- currently 11th in the Bundesliga table -- fail to qualify for Europe.

They have only picked up 21 points from their first 18 games of the season, and could miss out on European qualification for the first time since the 2009-2010 season.

^ Back to Top ^