Maja Hitij/Getty Images
Leeds United and Aston Villa are set to face disappointment in their Danilho Doekhi chase as the defender is set to see out his season with Union Berlin.
The mid-season transfer window is coming to an end and the clubs are wrapping up their business now.
Some late deals will go through before Monday evening and a host of clubs will also miss out on their winter targets.
Leeds and Aston Villa have been keen on adding a new defender this month and Doekhi appeared as a mutual target for them.
The Dutch defender’s current deal runs until the end of the season and he has multiple clubs chasing his signature in the ongoing window.
Doekhi, though, has decided to stay put at Union Berlin until the summer, according to German journalist Florian Plettenberg.
There have been ‘concrete offers’ put forward to the Dutchman, but he ‘wants to finish the season’ with Union Berlin.
Season
Position
Aston Villa’s last five league finishes
Doekhi wants to leave Union Berlin on a free deal when the season ends, which will grant him a much bigger payday.
Leeds and Aston Villa stood out as particularly interested in the 27-year-old, but that move is very unlikely now.
Bundesliga side Wolfsburg made a ‘surprise’ move for Doekhi, but the Dutchman is not interested in making a move mid-season.
The former Netherlands youth international has been linked with a potential move to the Premier League for a decade now, as Watford and West Ham United targeted him back in 2016.
The 27-year-old has been a stellar figure at the Bundesliga club, as he has featured in 122 games for Die Eisernen in his four-year spell so far.
Whether Aston Villa and Leeds will keep their interest alive in the ex-Eredivisie star when the summer window comes around remains to be seen, but he is likely to be hugely tempting as a free transfer.