German side pull out of Jelavic race.
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Bundesliga side Hamburg have pulled out of the race to sign Everton striker Nikica Jelavic, citing the fact that they can’t afford him as the main reason, Sky Sports reports.
The German club had been strongly linked with making a move for the former Glasgow Rangers frontman, who has been on Merseyside since January 2012.
He started life at the club brightly, scoring 11 times in his first 16 appearances at the tail end of the 2011/12 season. However, last term saw a dramatic dip in his fortunes as he could only find the net seven times during the whole campaign. His poor form coupled with the recent arrival of Arouna Kone from Wigan Athletic have left him in doubt as to whether he will feature in Roberto Martinez’s plans for the new season, which has prompted the talk of a move away from Goodison Park.
But Hamburg have now distanced themselves from pursuing a deal for the Croatian international any further after they confessed that they just don’t have the necessary funds to complete the deal.
“It is still a fact we first have to sell a couple of players before we can dig into buying any new,” Hamburger general manager Oliver Kreuzer is quoted by Bild.
“And as far as I am concerned we will be unable to finance a deal with Everton FC for him [Jelavic].”