According to Bild, Schalke have met with former Derby County target Serdar Dursun over a summer deal for the soon-to-be out of contract striker.
Dursun’s deal at Darmstadt expires this coming summer.
The 29-year-old almost left the Bundesliga II side last year, with Derby County reportedly pushing to sign him for a bargain deal as the Rams looked for a Chris Martin replacement.
According to Bild, Derby offered £900,000 late in the summer transfer window.
Darmstadt, however, rejected their advances as they couldn’t find a replacement.
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Derby, unwilling to pay more, ended up signing Colin Kazim-Richards on a free transfer and the former Sheffield United striker currently tops their scoring charts with seven goals.
Dursun, however, would surely have been a more prominent figure.
The Turkish striker has been in excellent form despite Darmstadt’s struggles this season, scoring 19 goals in 28 starts in all competitions including seven in his last five games.
Schalke, who are bottom of the Bundesliga and all-but certain of going down, are seemingly plotting their promotion charge early and Dursun is high on their list.
Bild claim Schalke first registered an interest in him in January, and now they have held a secret meeting with him as they look to secure a deal ahead of his expiring contract.
Derby will no doubt look back on their failure to sign Dursun with great regret.
The Rams are among the lowest goal scorers in the Championship this season, and it’s arguable their failure to sign Dursun cost former manager Phillip Cocu his job.
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