Fortuna Dusseldorf sports chief Lutz Pfannenstiel has revealed how close VfB Stuttgart came to signing Saul Niguez.

Pfannenstiel says Eintracht Frankfurt sports chief Fredi Bobic, then in charge of VfB, had a deal on the table for a young Saul.

He recalled to DAZN: "With VfB everything was already clear, for about eight million euros you could have signed him.

"Fredi was convinced of Saúl, but was not able to get his commitment because the sum was too high for others (at VfB).

"Today Saúl is probably one of the best midfielders in the world and worth many times over."