AMSTERDAM — Second Bundesliga survivors Karlsruher have begun talk with Viborg to acquire sturdy defender Babajide Ogunbiyi, MLSsoccer.com has learned.
The 24-year-old trained at KSC for a few days last week and it was apparently all manager Rainer Scharinger needed to see.
"He did pretty well," Ogunbiyi's rep Sascha Günter told MLSsoccer.com before the weekend. "They can see he has potential, that he is a raw diamond. It depends on whether they will pay what Viborg asks, but I'm glad he convinced the manager."
Coming off a season that ended with Viborg avoiding the drop and Ogunbiyi on TV2's second-flight Team of the Season, the New York native has one year remaining on his current pact.
A source close to the negotiations says the Greens are willing to let the American move up in class, but added that they will expect a tidy shipping fee to help cure their fiscal woes.
Since arriving at Viborg in January of 2009, Ogunbiyi has gone the distance in 42 league matches. The set-piece threat has pitched in five goals in 28 games last season.
