Serhou Guirassy teammate jokes how the club can fend off Manchester United transfer 'interest'

Stuttgart captain Waldemar Anton has joked his club should give themselves a transfer ban to fend off interest in reported Manchester United target Serhou Guirassy.

Guirassy, 27, has scored 19 goals in 16 outings in all competitions so far this season. He continues to push former United target Harry Kane in the race for the Golden Boot award in Germany.

Speculation over Guirassy's future continues to mount and the Stuttgart striker is claimed to have a release clause in his contract of around £15million. United are among the sides mooted to be keen on making a move for the Guinea international.

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West Ham are another side thought to be in the mix along with Jose Mourinho's Roma. But his captain is hoping he remains at the club beyond the mid-season window.

When jokingly asked by German publication Stimme if Stuttgart should consider a self-imposed transfer ban, Anton replied: "Yes," before repeating that one-word answer with a quickfire follow-up.

"I think he feels very, very comfortable here, and that's a huge point. If we play good games and score points, then he's also very, very happy.

"The mood in this Stuttgart team is great. The goalscoring job is a lot of fun. He also knows very well that we will all be happy if he stays here but, in the end, Serhou decides what happens."

United spent a total of £183million on Andre Onana, Mason Mount and Rasmus Hojlund in the summer. However, key figures behind the scenes are expecting a quiet January due to FFP concerns.