Socceroos winger Ajdin Hrustic is pushing his Eredivisie club FC Grongingen to cash in on him before he leaves for free after they rejected a bid from Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt.
Frankfurt offered Groningen $980,000 for the Aussie but the Eredivisie club rejected it, with Hrustic one of their key players having made over 70 appearances for the club after coming through their youth system.
Groningen are expected to want a sum in the region of $1.5 to $2 million for the Socceroos winger, who broke out in the national squad in a brief displays under Graham Arnold last year.
"I'll tell you in all honesty, I did it today for the coach with whom I have a good relationship," Hrustic said after Groningen's win over Ado Den Haag.
“The time is ripe,” Hrustic clarified. “I want to take this step and help the club to earn something from me. I don't know exactly what amount is on the table, I don't interfere, but it is better for the club to get something than nothing.
"Give the green light."
"I suppose so. Right from the start, when Frankfurt submitted an official offer, I said that I was ready for the next step, in a new environment, in a new league and in a new country, ”said the Australian. “I let the club know that I want this transfer to go through. I also told the club that I would like them to make more money with me. Corona has already hit us enough. "
Hrustic even went as far as detailing how he wouldn't be able to give 100% for the club if they refused to let him leave.
"You have pointed out financial problems,” said Hrustic, who demanded: “If there are any, you simply accept what is offered to you.
“Then you can't expect me to get 100 percent involved in every game. The trainer understands me. He was a player himself and knows that if you can make the leap into the Bundesliga, you have to seize the opportunity with both hands.
"If they don't let me do this then I will be really disappointed in them. I will not be angry, but I will be deeply offended. I really hope that it will work out in the next few days.
"If they don't do that as FC Groningen, I'll sign for Frankfurt in January and go on a free transfer after this season. But I don't want that. I leave it to FC Groningen. The club did a lot for me.
"We've been through a lot together, good and bad moments. It wasn't always easy, but I always gave 100 percent. Now that I am at the end of my contract period, I expect something in return and I would like to give the club the last chance to benefit financially."
Groningen manager Mark-Jan Fledderus was calm, expressing that the club could only let Hrustic leave for the right sum.
“I know the game. I know how these types of processes work. Whether we let him go depends only on whether we get the right price for him, ”explained the 37-year-old.
“That is not the case at the moment. We are not at all unwilling in this story, did not tell Ajdin that we would not let him go. Blocking is too difficult a word in this sense. We just see it in business, have a certain amount in mind and are still a long way from reaching it. Incidentally, that can change very quickly."
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