MADRID, August 16 – Spanish giants Real Madrid plan to make a new offer to Werder Bremen for German World Cup sensation Mesut Ozil after an earlier bid was rejected, Spanish sports newspapers said Monday.Real, under new coach Jose Mourinho, plan to offer 14 million euros for the 21-year-old midfielder, five million more than previously, the daily Marca reported.
Another sports daily, AS, said "the idea is to reach a figure of between the 10 million offered by Real and the 16 (million) which the German team is demanding."
Werder sports director Klaus Allofs said on Friday that the club had rejected an offer from Real as "unacceptable".
Financial details of that bid were not disclosed but German media reported that a 16-million-euro price tag had been placed on Ozil whose contract with Werder expires in June 2011.
Ozil has also been the recent target of clubs such as Arsenal and Manchester United.
The player, who joined Bremen in January 2008 for 4.25 million euros, impressed during the World Cup this summer in which Germany finished third.
Ozil himself told the two Spanish sports papers that he could move to Real this season.
The deadline for any such transfer could be Wednesday, when Bremen takes on Italy’s Sampdoria in the Champions League. If Ozil plays, he would be ineligible to take the field for Real in the same competition.
Since taking over at the Spanish club last month, Mourinho has already recruited Spanish midfielders Sergio Canales and Pedro Leon, German midfielder Sami Khedira and Argentine striker Angel Di Maria.
Real, who finished second in the Liga last season behind champions Barcelona, opens the new season with a match at Real Mallorca on August 29.
