Bundesliga outfit Hannover have confirmed they are hoping to sign Switzerland starlet Tranquillo Barnetta from Bayer Leverkusen.
The 19-year-old midfielder, who was a late addition to Kobi Kuhn's Euro 2004 squad, has been contracted to Leverkusen for the last few months but has been on loan to Swiss outfit St Gallen.
New Hannover general manager Ilja Kaenzig, who has also just arrived at the AWD Arena from Leverkusen, admitted that talks about a loan deal had reached an advanced stage.
"Things are looking good as far as our talks with both the player and Bayer Leverksuen are concerned," Kaenzig said.
He continued by describing Barnetta as a "unusually talented player."
Meanwhile, it looks likely that Hannover will be forced to let goalkeeper Marc Ziegler (pictured) return to Austria Vienna after his season on loan in Germany.
The Reds would like to negotiate a permanent move for the giant custodian, but have made no progress in talks with the Austrian outfit:
"They are simply not prepared to negotiate," Kaenzig said.
