ABERDEEN are upping the ante in their pursuit of teenage French striker Moussa Soumano.
The Dons lodged a £400,000 bid with stricken Championnat National side AC Ajaccio for the 19-year-old hitman.
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His club have been relegated from Ligue 2 due to financial problems so are set to cash in on their star man this summer.
But they won’t be forced into a sale for what they perceive as below the player’s market value, a report suggests.
According to the Daily Record, the French outfit REJECTED the Pittodrie club’s opening offer.
And that’s led to them making an improved offer for the forward, reportedly worth £500,00.
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What complicates the situation is that Ajaccio have appealed the decision to relegate them from the second tier, and their case won’t be heard until July 15.
Aberdeen are spreading the net across Europe in a bid to tool up for the group stages of Uefa competition this season.
This week they have already welcomed Icelandic midfielder Kjartan Mar Kjartansson, and boss Jimmy Thelin hopes to beat off competition to snap up another highly-rated young prospect.
Despite his young age Soumano has made 66 appearances for Ajaccio across all competitions, scoring five goals.
Thelin said of Kjartansson: “Kjartan is a player who our scouting department have been aware of and tracking for some time.
“We are pleased to have signed him given the significant interest from some big clubs.
“For a player still so young, he has played an impressive volume of minutes for the first team and the Icelandic youth international squads.
“He has a very good defensive and positional mind for the game.
“He has performed well for Stjarnan when winning possession back for his team, makes key interceptions and protecting the team in transition – all the qualities we look for at the base of our midfield and it’ s impressive when you consider his age.
“He is a very exciting talent, but we also know we need to work with him to develop further, and he will take time to adapt to a new club, a new league and a new country.
“We must be patient; we must nurture him and at times we must protect him to ensure we are able to realise his significant potential.”
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