Universitatea Craiova, the reigning champions of Romanian football, went in for Dinamo Bucharest's Israeli centre-back Nikita Stoinov this week — and were sent away with a firm no. ONE reports that Dinamo rejected the offer within days of it landing, unwilling to entertain a fee anywhere near what Craiova were prepared to pay.

According to the report, Craiova's opening bid was €700,000. Dinamo's response, relayed by Romanian outlets Antena Sport and Digisport, was blunt: they will not sell for less than €3 million, a valuation both sites describe as strikingly high by Liga I standards.

The gap between the two numbers tells its own story. Dinamo have made clear internally that Stoinov is not a player they are looking to move on quickly, whatever interest he attracts from elsewhere in the league.

Stoinov, 20, arrived in Bucharest last summer from Maccabi Netanya, the club that produced him through its youth system. Romanian reports at the time put the fee at somewhere between €400,000 and €450,000, making him one of Dinamo's most expensive signings of that window.

He has settled quickly. Across his time at the club he has made 46 appearances and scored once, and he has started all three of Dinamo's league matches so far this season, an ever-present at the heart of the defence.

Craiova's interest is not casual. Head coach Filipe Coelho has identified the Israeli as a target to strengthen a defensive line he wants rebuilt, and ONE reports that talks between the clubs took place as recently as last week before the formal offer was tabled and knocked back.

The Romanian champions are expected to return to the table, according to the report, with a fresh approach likely once Dinamo's Europa League qualifying commitments are out of the way and the transfer picture in Bucharest becomes clearer.

For Stoinov, the interest from a club of Craiova's standing is another marker of his rapid rise. Already capped by Israel's senior national team, he has gone from a fringe figure at Netanya to a wanted man in Romanian football inside little more than a year.