Zenit St. Petersburg’s general director Maxim Mitrofanov has revealed Stoke City failed with an audacious bid for midfielder Alex Witsel in January.
Witsel, 27, was heavily linked with a move away from the Russian Premier League outfit in the winter transfer window, with AC Milan among those chasing his signature.
However, it has now been revealed that Stoke were also after the towering midfielder, although it is unsure whether this interest was before or after their stunning capture of Giannelli Imbula.
“There was an offer from the Stoke City,” Mitrofanov told Russian news agency Tass, via The Stoke Sentinel.
“[Our] colleagues probably think we may ‘fail’ in the summer. Witsel’s agent are dreaming of selling him somewhere but we will be happy if he continues playing in our team. They [Stoke] offered about €15-16million. No other proposals took place.”
Only two players have a higher pass success rate than Witsel in the Russian Premier League this season (88.5%).
For more stats on Alex Witsel, click here to visit his WhoScored player page
