'Far above the level of Romanian SuperLiga' - CFR Cluj president reacts to Brighton's interest in Philip Otele

Cristi Balaj, the president of CFR Cluj, has reacted to speculation linking Nigerian forward Philip Otele to the English Premier League.

The Seagulls are keen on securing the services of Otele who trained with Arsenal youth team as a teenager and the plan is to sign him in the summer before loaning him out immediately to partner club Union Saint-Gilloise.

The 24-year-old is having a remarkable season, registering nineteen goal involvements (13 goals, 6 assists) in thirty appearances in the regular season - a feat that earned him a spot on the SuperLiga Best XI.

Balaj is unhappy that the news was leaked to the media at this important stage of the season and confirmed an exclusive report by allnigeriasoccer.com eighteen days ago that CFR Cluj rejected bids from French clubs Bordeaux and Lorient.

Balaj is convinced Otele has all the qualities needed to succeed in a big European club and confident that CFR Cluj can receive a favorable offer in the summer, once the season concludes. 

When asked to comment on Brighton's interest in Otele, Balaj told sport.ro: "It is not a transfer period now. It is an important period of the championship and we are not necessarily happy when such topics appear in important moments of the championship.

"We know that Otele is being pursued by major clubs, there was an important offer in the winter, which was turned down because we consider his value to be much higher than what was offered to us.

"We avoid talking about amounts because the value of a player must be given by his performances.

"We are satisfied that he has a very good level - assists, goals scored. We are confident that he will end up having a transfer to an important club."

He continued: "Otele is a consummate professional. For him there is only football. He is preparing at the highest level and I am convinced that he will reach a major club in Europe.

"The winter offer for Otele was from Europe, from France. There were other teams interested in Otele, but the one from France was concrete.

"Now we have nothing, but now is not a transfer period. I am convinced that if he evolves as he does during this period we will see him in important championships.

"Undeniably, I see Otele in an important championship. He is a player far above the level of the Romanian championship.

"It was a good decision to transfer him, we watched him, we noticed him and probably we saw qualities in him that others didn't notice."

Otele is under contract at CFR Club until June 2025 and his deal with the Railwaymen includes the option of an additional season.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

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