Kristoffer Lund passes Köln medical, Middlesbrough’s Rav van den Berg to follow? | OneFootball

FC Köln’s reliable Geißblog fan-site reports that USMNT international Kristoffer Lund has passed his club medical. The 23-year-old will join the newly promoted Bundesliga club on loan from Serie B outfit Palermo FC with an option to buy. Sky Germany reports that Germany’s cathedral city club is prepared to further bolster their defense by signing Middlesbrough central defender Rav van den Berg.

After initially targeting Lund last month, Köln were reported to have lost interest in the Danish-American. The Domstädter shifted their focus to Turkish youth international Ahmetcan Kaplan. When a deal to acquire the Ajax defender fell through, interest in Lund was reinvigorated. The Köln administrative team also redoubled their efforts to bring van den Berg to German football.

Van den Berg will not come cheap. The Netherlands youth international could end up costing die Geißböcke more than they were willing to pay for Kaplan. Negotiations for Kaplan stalled amid the Dutch club’s demands for a €6m transfer fee.

Sky nevertheless reports that Köln have tendered a €7m offer to the EFL Championship side. Köln have not invested so much in a player since purchasing attacking midfielder Ondrej Duda from Hertha BSC in the summer of 2020.

Van den Berg will also be the most expensive Kölner defensive purchase since Sebastiaan Bornauw in the summer 2019 transfer window. Bornauw, after four seasons in Wolfsburg, moved to Leeds United this summer.

GGFN | Peter Weis