Eintracht Frankfurt forward Andre Silva does not have a buy-out clause in his contract, insists the player’s agent.
Rumours had suggested the Portuguese international, who has been linked with Manchester United, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, would be free to leave the Bundesliga club if a rival met a €30m (£26m/$36m) release fee.
However, a spokesman for Gestifute consultancy, which represents the 25-year-old, told Goal and Spox that there is no exit clause in his contract, nor is there a verbal agreement to let him leave for such a fee this summer.
The bigger picture
Despite the absence of a release clause, Silva could still leave Frankfurt this summer, though he would be much harder to obtain.
Only Robert Lewandowski has scored more than Silva’s 23 goals in Bundesliga this season, with his exploits catching the eye of some of the game’s elite sides.
Manchester United are believed to be leading the chase for former Porto player as they weigh up the futures of Edinson Cavani and Anthony Martial. La Liga duo Barcelona and Atletico Madrid are also believed to be monitoring the forward, who scored 16 goals last season before making his loan deal from AC Milan permanent last summer.
Goal and Spox understands Frankfurt are not under any financial pressure to sell the player, and with two years still left on his contract would be in a strong bargaining position with any potential bidders.
Reaching next season’s Champions League would bolster their finances still further and provide Silva with added motivation to stay on for at least another season. Adi Hutter’s side currently occupy the final qualification spot with six games remaining.
If Silva did move on, it seems certain that any deal would secure the club a significant profit on the reported €9 million (£8m/$11m) they paid Milan last year.