The Red Bulls are believed to be among the front-runners in a bidding war for FC Astra Giurgiu attacker Alexandru Ionita II (known as Alex Ionita).

According to reports from Romanian news outlets Liber Tatea and ORANGE, the Red Bulls have submitted a bid for the 22-year-old attacker worth 1.5 million euros (~$1.7 million). Per the sources, the Red Bulls will face competition from Turkish Super Lig giants Konyaspor, who have bid 800,000 euros (~$950k) and from Romanian Liga I outfit CS Universitatea Craiova to the tune of 500,000 euros (~$595k) and two unnamed players.

The 22-year-old Ionita is a rising star in Romania, already setting a career high with eight goals in just 17 Liga I starts this year and having earned his first cap for the Romanian national team in a September World Cup Qualifier against Poland.

ORANGE noted that Ionita’s contract runs through summer 2018, which is around the time when the Red Bulls usually conduct player transfers.

The Red Bulls have had some form of relationship with Astra Giurgiu under Dennis Hamlett’s watch, as they loaned out forward Anatole Abang to the Liga I outfit through the summer of 2018.

Among the attackers released by the Red Bulls on Deadline Day were Gonzalo Veron, Mike Grella and Vincent Bezecourt - in turn opening up a DP slot and significant cap space for the 2018 season.