The midfield player’s contract is due to expire in the summer but the club are still stalling on offering new terms. O’Leary is believed to be keen to hold on to ‘Der Hammer’ but admits it’s up to the board at the club to come up with a decent offer.
“I think Thomas wants to stay here,” he said. “It’s just a case of whether we can offer him the right package.” The progress of negotiations is likely to be closely monitored, however, with several German clubs expressing an interest in signing Hitzlsperger.