Borussia Mönchengladbach forward Branimir Hrgota has reiterated his intention to stay at the club this summer, despite his contract expiring in the summer of 2016.
Hrgota made 25 appearances for The Foals last season as he played second fiddle to the club’s first choice strike pairing of Max Kruse and Raffael, who plundered 27 goals between them as Gladbach qualified for the Champions League this season.
But despite Kruse moving to Wolfsburg this summer, the Foals’ manager Lucien Favre decided to bring in Leverkusen striker Josip Drmic instead of making Hrgota a more central figure for this campaign, with his contract situation making his future at Borussia Park rather precarious.
Hrgota keen to battle for a starting spot
However, Hrgota told German football magazine Kicker that he "would like to stay with Borussia" as they are "a great club", with the fans, team and manager Favre being described as "outstanding" by the striker, who also admits the Champions League is a factor in staying.
But with Drmic coming in, Hrgota acknowledged that he "has to fight more a place more than before", but he is not scared of competition, saying "I know my qualities and those qualities have also been shown in the Bundesliga."
The striker helped his national team, Sweden, to the under-21 European Championship title, yet only played 52 minutes as he once again played second fiddle to a preferred strike partnership, this time John Guidetti and Isaac Kiese Thelin.
But during the championship, Hrgota explained he had no idea about offers, telling the German football magazine that they would, "have to ask my advisor. I played the European championship, went on vacation and now am back in preseason. I am focused purely on football".
When quizzed about the upcoming European campaign for the Foals, Hrgota was more definitive on who he wanted to face in the Champions League, saying "Real Madrid", particularly wanting to play them at the Santiago Bernabeu.
