Peter Linden is a pretty reputable source. He previously wrote for the Krone which is the biggest Austrian newspaper. I dont doubt that RBNY put in an offer for Fountas.
Struber is pretty familiar with Fountas agency, Hagmayr Sport, who represents a number of Salzburg players + other Austrian Bundesliga talent.
Things stand where they stand. Its a question if one party blinks first, some progress is made on a better offer for Fountas services, or RBNY move on to a different target.
Struber values players he has a familiarity with and having success bringing those players in will be key to keeping him happy, unlike what happened at his most recent job that lead to him joining RBNY.
Fountas fits the style of play, and would be poised to contribute without a long adjustment period, which is even more so important with the quick turnaround to the 2022 season.
If this happens, no one will be happier than me. The guy scored 10+ goals plus bunch of assists every year, including 20+ goals two years ago. Played against some good competition. He should be an upgrade over Klimala/Barlow, no doubt about that.
I am just skeptical for the reasons outlined before - why would they give him up for 200K when the whole season pretty much is yet to be played? I mean, yeah he may leave later for free, but if he is their top striker, they can surely use him next year in championship round, which which they currently are qualifying. It's not like they are tanking the year. Even if they lose him a year later, there is still season to be played and motivation to forego this season has to be substantial. To me 200K is no where near sufficient. If a few years ago when we were fighting for play-offs, we would offload BWP for 200K I would not be happy for instance, even if I thought he might leave the following season. Then there is a matter of him wanting to go to MLS, specifically NJ, signing a contract. That is a pretty big if too.