Torino coach Sinisa Mihajlovic has closed the chapter on the transfer of midfielder Afriyie Acquah to English side Birmingham City.
The potential move for the Ghana star gathered steam in recent weeks but has now been shot down just about five days to deadline day.
According to the Torino boss, he is keeping Afriyie Acquah because he remains important to his side this new season.
Torino held negotiations with Birmingham and the Blues were thought to be on the verge of a club-record deal to sign the 25-year-old to St. Andrew’s but the goalposts have now changed.
“I asked the club not to sell Acquah, because he is an important player for us,” Mihajlovic said at a press conference ahead of Sunday’s Serie A clash with Sassuolo.
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The manager further revealed Harry Redknapp’s offer was too low, adding that Tornio are initiating moves to renew Afriyie Acquah’s contract.
“The offer we received from Birmingham City wasn’t that good. We spoke yesterday and we want to extend his contract,” he stated.
Afriyie Acquah is expected to be handed a starting berth when Torino face Sassuolo at 16.00 GMT on Sunday.
Bad news for Blues
The news comes as a big blow to Harry Redknapp who is extremely keen to continue strengthening his squad ahead of Thursday’s transfer deadline.
Saturday’s 2-0 home defeat to Reading only reinforced what Redknapp already knew – he needs to bring more quality to the squad and he’ll be looking to do just that in the coming days.
Birmingham have missed out all their defensive midfield targets this transfer window. They were initially snubbed by another Ghanaian, Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu while they were also denied the chance to sign Nigerian international Ogenyi Onazi due to work permit.
