English Premier League squad Arsenal is rumored to be preparing a £55 million summer swoop for Wolfsburg star Julian Draxler as Gunners head coach Arsene Wenger is still looking to boost his team’s offensive options next term.
The 22-year-old Germany international is naturally playing the winger position with Die Wölfe and the German national team, but Wenger allegedly believes that he can use him as a striker in the middle of Arsenal’s frontline as well.
Wenger had been looking for an additional striker since last winter after the team’s debacle when his top striker, Frenchman Olivier Giroud, and English forward Danny Welbeck were both injured for a time and the only option he had was Theo Walcott.
The shortage allegedly compromised their Premier League title aspirations last term, in which they ended up as runners-up to newly-crowned English top flight champions Leicester City.
Wenger is said to be taking no chances this coming season and had been on a lookout for available strikers and goalscorers this offseason.
The Daily Mirror reported that the 66-year-old Gunners boss “has been put on red alert after Wolfsburg hinted they are ready to sell Julian Draxler” and that the winger “could solve Arsenal’s search for a forward”.
With the Lower Saxony club failing to qualify to next season’s Champions League, their main sponsor, Volkswagen, is allegedly set to make cutbacks and so they are prepared to sell Draxler this summer.
The 6-foot-2 Gladbeck, Germany native is also keen on an exit because he wants to compete in the European tournaments next season and Arsenal will be able to provide him that opportunity.
Wenger is said to be desperate for a striker after missing out on Foxes’ main goalscorer Jamie Vardy early this summer and so even though Draxler is not a natural striker he is still keen on signing him because of his versatility, playmaking, and goalscoring capabilities.
Wolfsburg sporting director Klaus Allofs recently admitted the club’s current issues financially, which is why selling Draxler is a real possibility before the summer transfer window ends.
“Clearly we have a lot to talk about. There were a few issues that have emerged in the past,” said Allofs via Caught Offside.
Draxler scored six goals in 23 appearances in the Bundesliga for Wolfsburg last season. Overall, he played in 34 games in all competitions and had netted nine times during his first and only year with the Wolves so far.
