Rapid want Larsen
Rapid Vienna are interested in Danish national team star Sören Larsen, it has been revealed.Rapids executive manager Alfred Hörtnagl travelled to France yesterday (Thurs) to meet FC Toulouse bosses to sort out final details to ensure the deal occurs before the summer transfer window shuts next Tuesday (31 August).Rapid are pressed to act after Nikica Jelavic left the club last week. The Croat forced his transfer to Scottish league champions Glasgow Rangers by telling club chiefs he did not want to play for Rapid anymore hours before the team were due to face Aston Villa in a UEFA Europa League qualification matcd.The 32-time Austrian league champions cashed around five million Euros for the 24-year-old striker, who had joined them from Belgian club Zulte Waregen for less than half a million Euros last year after having played for Rapid on a loan agreement since 2008.Hörtnagl felt the heat after the controversial Jelavic deal since he had previously declared that his position come into question if he let “such an important player go shortly before such an important match”.Larsen was under contract at German Bundesliga giants Schalke 04 between 2005 and 2008 before joining FC Toulouse. The Ligue 1 side transferred the injury-stricken striker to German second league club MSV Duisburg last year.Finnish striker Mikael Forssell from Hannover 96 and free agent Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink who played for Celtic Glasgow and Hull City were previously linked to a move to the Green-Whites based in Vienna-Penzing.Rapid have focused on helping young talents to first squad performances over the past few years but are now reportedly willing to spent recent takings on a player able to replace Jelavic.The Croat who performed for Rapid in this seasons Europa League qualification will be forced to watch when his new teammates clash with Manchester United, Bursaspor and FC Valencia in the Champions League group stage since his ex-colleagues have reached the Europa League group stage.The team managed by Peter Pacult beast Aston Villa 3-2 away from home last night after last weeks first leg ended in a 1-1 draw. Rapid defeated Villa at the same stage of last years event as well.Their victory at Villa Park last night was only the second in history achieved by an Austrian club against an English Premiership side away from home. GAK defeated Liverpool FC 1-0 at Anfield road in 2004.Meanwhile, reports have it that Rapids second choice keeper Helge Payer is being eyed by Serb giants FK Partizan. The 30-year-old kept goal for Rapid for years before Pacult opted for Raimund Hedl, 35, as this seasons number one.Payer is nevertheless expected to stay with the Green-Whites since he runs a youth keepers academy near Vienna and is to become a dad in a few weeks.Rapid face struggling LASK Linz away from home in the fifth round of the 2010/2011 Bundesliga season on Sunday.The Austrian Bundesliga table after five rounds:SV Ried, 12 pointsWacker Innsbruck, 10Rapid Vienna, 9Austria Vienna, 8Kapfenberg, 8Sturm Graz, 7Magna Wiener Neustadt, 7Red Bull Salzburg, 4LASK Linz, 0SV Mattersburg, 0