Germany starlet Max Meyer confirms summer interest from Tottenham

German prodigy Max Meyer appeared to court attention from more than one potential Premier League suitor during the summer transfer window. Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool were strongly linked with his signature earlier this year, while the attacking midfielder has now confirmed rumours that Tottenham Hotspur also expressed a keen interest before being quickly rebuffed by Schalke.

Speaking in an interview with German newspaper Bild this week, he said: "I know that there was interest and the club was asked, but Schalke immediately put a stop to it. So the matter was settled."

Meyer had already established himself as one of the Bundesliga's most exciting young prospects after being handed Raul's old number seven shirt in 2013-14 and reports in July suggested that Liverpool were preparing to test Schalke's resolve by submitting a formal offer worth in the region of £28m ($34.6m).

Such a move never materialised, however, with the Royal Blues, who also lost Julian Draxler to Wolfsburg in 2015, presumably eager to retain one of their brightest talents having seen Leroy Sane snapped up by Manchester City in a £37m deal.

Known primarily for his dribbling skills and impressive passing ability, Meyer further embellished his growing reputation at the Olympic Games. The 21-year-old played a prominent role for a German U-23 side that advanced to the men's football final in Rio de Janeiro under head coach Horst Hrubesch, appearing in all six matches and taking over captain's duties after club teammate Leon Goretzka was forced to return home prematurely after suffering a shoulder injury during their opening tie against Mexico.

Meyer scored a hat-trick in the 10-0 drubbing of competition debutants Fiji in Belo Horizonte and also netted a second-half equaliser in the gold medal match against Brazil that cancelled out an earlier free-kick from Neymar. He did not take a penalty in the subsequent shootout that the hosts won 5-4 to win their first men's Olympic football title inside the atmospheric Maracana Stadium.

That impressive showing in South America appeared to alert Tottenham, with Bild claiming after the tournament that Spurs were prepared to make their own bid of €45m (£39.8m, $49.3m) and offer wages of €8m-per-year plus bonuses.

Schalke never did wilt in the face of that interest and Meyer, who has made 14 appearances so far this season, also claimed he felt "good" about the club when quizzed regarding the prospect of extending his contract beyond 2018.

Markus Weinzierl's side were left bottom of the Bundesliga after opening the new manager's first campaign in charge with four consecutive defeats, but have now risen steadily to 12th after extending their unbeaten league run to five matches courtesy of a 3-1 win over Werder Bremen at Veltins-Arena in Gelsenkirchen.