Dzeko stays at Wolfsburg despite City interest

Wolfsburg’s Bosnian international striker Edin Dzeko will be staying at the Bundesliga club next season, the club said Tuesday, despite strong reported interest from Manchester City.

The 24-year-old, who top-scored for the Wolves with 22 goals in 34 Bundesliga matches last season, had a get-out clause in his contract worth 40 million euros (49 million dollars) that expired at midnight on Monday.

But no club stumped up the cash required to release him. “The conditions have not been met,” Wolfsburg’s sporting director Dieter Hoeness said.

“We are very pleased that the period of uncertainty is over … he is a player of huge quality who would have been very difficult for us to replace,” Hoeness added in a statement.

New Wolfsburg coach Steve McClaren said last week that keeping the striker was a top priority for him.

The former England manager described him as a “world-class striker who is immensely important to our success,” adding: “I would love to keep him.”

McClaren steered Twente Enschede to their first Dutch league title last season, but moved to Wolfsburg who finished a disappointing eighth last term after winning the Bundesliga title in May 2009.