AMSTERDAM – Former US star and current AZ Alkmaar technical director Earnie Stewart has knocked back a Werder Bremen offer for top gun Aron Johannsson, but is now bracing himself for an improved bid from the Bundesliga side.
It had been a rather quiet summer regarding calls over the 24-year-old hit man while he was away on CONCACAF Gold Cup duty. However, now that Johannsson is back at his club, an ardent suitor has forced Stewart to reject their initial transfer pitch.
"That's the only one we've had to deal with," Stewart, once a dual-national USMNT attacker himself, told MLSsoccer.com. "This [offer] was not sufficient, so we rejected it. That doesn't mean they won't come back [with an improved offer], because they were pretty adamant about bringing him in. They've come after him a couple times now."
As is typical with Eredivisie clubs, AZ are in no strategic position to issue many ironclad "hands off" warnings over top talent. Though the Kaasboeren have already waived goodbye to regulars Esteban Alvarado, Steven Berghuis, Nemanja Gudelj, Wesley Hoedt and Simon Poulsen this summer, Stewart admitted that Johannsson could also be had for the right offer.
"Everybody has their price, that's something that goes on in football," explained Stewart. "That's what we try to do: bring players in, make them better and have them make the next step in their career.
"That's how we are with Aron. If the club gets better [from a deal], we can do something."
According to German tabloid Bild, Bremen's unsuccessful Johannsson bid was for €4 million ($4.4 million), with AZ expecting something more in the €5 million ($5.5 million) neighborhood. Green-Whites boss Viktor Skrypnyk is currently searching for a striker to replace departed top scorer Franco Di Santo, who has moved to Schalke.
Johannsson has notched 38 goals and 11 assists in 84 games across all competitions since joining AZ from AGF Aarhus in January of 2013. In addition to winning a KNVB Cup with the Cheese Farmers, the Alabama native has also racked up three goals in 12 USMNT caps.
