Bundesliga outfit Hertha Berlin are keen to keep Josip Simunic
Bundesliga outfit Hertha Berlin are keen to keep Josip Simunic and have offered the highly-rated Croatian international a contract extension.
The 27-year-old's current deal expires next summer and Hertha's managing director Dieter Hoeness admitted that his club is likely to face tough competition for the highly-regarded defender, who has been linked with a move to Serie A.
"Several other clubs are interested in him," revealed Hoeness, who is nevertheless confident that Simunic will remain at the Olympiastadion.
"Our club played an important role, helping him build a reputation of his own. Talks with him have just begun," the managing director added.
The giant defender started his career in Australia, where he featured for AIS Canberra and Melbourne Knights before he joined Hamburg in 1997.
Simunic struggled to live up to his promising potential at the AOL-Arena and did not seal his breakthrough until he opted to move to Berlin in the winter of 2000, where he quickly established himself as one of the most reliable defenders in Die Bundesliga.
