Bundesliga trio join Brentford, Crystal Palace & Fulham in race for in-demand Middlesbrough star | OneFootball

Bundesliga trio Stuttgart, Wolfsburg and Werder Bremen are the latest clubs to show interest in Middlesbrough defender Rav van den Berg.

Bundesliga sides Stuttgart, Wolfsburg and Werder Bremen have reportedly joined the race for Middlesbrough defender Rav van den Berg.

That's according to Sky Sports Transfer Centre (12th July, 10:52), with the outlet claiming that Stuttgart, Wolfsburg and Werder Bremen are the latest clubs to show interest in van den Berg, who also has Premier League suitors.

Van den Berg joined Middlesbrough from Dutch side PEC Zwolle for a fee of just €300,000 (£260,000) in the summer of 2023, and he reportedly turned down interest from the likes of AC Milan, Borussia Dortmund, Ajax and Juventus in order to make the move to the Riverside Stadium.

The 21-year-old enjoyed an impressive debut campaign on Teesside, which saw him attract attention from a number of Premier League clubs last summer, but his second season was not quite as impressive, with injuries limiting him to just 27 appearances last term as Boro finished 10th in the Championship table.

However, van den Berg's stock does not appear to have fallen despite his decline in form, and after Brentford and Fulham were linked with the defender earlier in the summer, he is now being tracked by the Bundesliga trio.

Stuttgart, Wolfsburg and Werder Bremen join Rav van den Berg transfer race

Amid interest in some of their stars last summer, Middlesbrough refused to sanction any departures unless they received a bid that was too good to turn down, with head of football Kieran Scott stating that "the only chance we're going to have of going up this season is keeping our best players".

However, despite being in the middle of a play-off push, Boro sold striker Emmanuel Latte Lath to MLS side Atlanta United for a fee of £22.5 million at the close of the winter transfer window, so it remains to be seen whether they would be willing to consider offers for Van den Berg this summer.

Brentford are reportedly keen to reunite van den Berg with his brother Sepp at the Gtech Community Stadium, but Fulham are also believed to be keeping tabs on him, while Crystal Palace have held a long-standing interest and are weighing up a move this summer.

However, van den Berg's Premier League admirers could be set for disappointment after Stuttgart, Wolfsburg and Werder Bremen entered the running, and according to Sky Sports, the German sides are "showing the most interest at this time".

Speaking earlier in the summer ahead of his involvement in the European Under-21 Championship with the Netherlands, Van den Berg insisted that he does not regret his decision to join Boro, but he refused to rule out an exit this summer after admitting that other clubs are chasing him.

"I still support the decision to go to Middlesbrough. The city may not be the most beautiful in England and I don't like fish and chips. But it has been good for my development, because I have played a lot," van den Berg told De Stentor last month.

“My brother Sepp took a different path by transferring to Liverpool, a big club. But he has done very well in a roundabout way, he now plays almost everything at Brentford. That is also important to me and decisive in a choice, I want playing time. I did tell my agent that he should only call if a club is very serious. Did he call after that? Yes. But I can't say anything more about it."

Middlesbrough should consider cashing in on Rav van den Berg this summer

Van den Berg is a player with huge potential, but after winning the Player of the Season award in his first year at Middlesbrough, he struggled to reach the same heights last term, albeit his form was not helped by persistent injury problems.

Of course, it would be a big blow for new Boro manager Rob Edwards to lose one of his best defenders, but the club should seriously consider accepting any bids that meet their valuation of Van den Berg this summer, and selling him could reduce the need to cash in on the likes of Hayden Hackney, who is the subject of interest from a host of Premier League clubs, including Everton.

It seems Boro may already be planning for life without van den Berg amid reports that they are in talks with Hull City over a £2 million deal for Alfie Jones, and he could be the perfect replacement for the highly-rated Dutchman if he was to depart this summer.