Julian Draxler is the next name in the line of young, German prodigies. There have been players such as Lukas Podolski, Mesut Ozil and Mario Gotze that have been given this reputable title in the public eye, but now it’s the turn of the 19-year-old from Gelsenkirchen.
As is the case with most young stars in football, Draxler is at the centre of lots of transfer speculation with the summer transfer window coming to a close in Europe’s top leagues. But it’s not just been the latter stages of the window when he’s reportedly been in demand. Draxler was also tipped by the German media to be Borussia Dortmund’s replacement for Mario Gotze, that was until he signed a new contract extending his current one to 2018 and saying: “”I would only sign for Dortmund if I was subjected to brainwashing”. Draxler was already loved at Schalke, but those comments definitely increased every supporter’s love for the youngster.
The club has really taken to Draxler, not just as a player but as a mature adult as well. In Schalke they have a player’s council in place; this council is mainly for trusted players and veterans who advice or talk with the coach about making decisions within the club and many other things. Draxler is the youngest inductee ever into the player council at the tender age of nineteen, so it’s quite clear the Royal Blues think highly of their gem.
Schalke have recently acquired Kevin-Prince Boateng in their ranks, which hints that the exit door may be open for Draxler, but Schalke coach, Jens Keller, was quick to play down any talk of his departure, he was quoted to say: “Why should we commit a player of such quality as Kevin-Prince then get rid of a player of such quality as Julian? We ultimately want to ensure that we are and remain competitive.”
But I guess the real question is: do I reckon he’ll leave for Arsenal? In my personal opinion, I believe there’s zero chance he’ll leave Schalke this transfer window, even with their poor start to the Bundesliga season. Wenger recently said in a press conference he believes there are very few players in football worth paying over £50,000,000 for, and now the buy-out clause in Draxler’s contract has expired (45.5m Euros), I can’t see Schalke accepting anything soon unless it’s superfluous, and we know all too well Wenger is a penny pincher.
Hypothetically speaking, let’s say Draxler was to move to Arsenal in the next couple of days, what can Arsenal fans expect? Well, one thing that he can bring is versatility. Draxler started off his early days at Schalke on the left side in a 4-2-3-1 formation; this was so they were able to bleed him into the side whilst accommodating Holtby in the number 10 role, which too is Draxler’s favourite position. Despite this not being his favoured position, Draxler took to the role very well and performed as if he was like any modern day winger – constantly cutting inside onto his favoured right foot playing off that. But with Holtby’s departure to Tottenhem, it wasn’t long after Draxler was able to sparkle in the number 10 role.
Now he’s being played down the centre of the three in a 4-2-3-1 for Schalke the transfer speculation has all started. Prior to that many teams kept tabs on the Schalke’s youth development, including Draxler they have a great set of young players coming through like Max Meyer and Donis Avdijaj, but it was last season when Draxler stood-out. Accumulating 10 goals and making 45 key passes, Draxler managed to draw worldwide attention to himself, many of these aforementioned goals and key passes were executed from his favoured number 10 role, but sometimes it was from the left when called upon.
If Draxler was to go to Arsenal, which I don’t think he will, then he’d be an eloquent fit into Wenger’s system, of all the clubs I’d like him to go to should he leave Arsenal would be one of them. But with Wenger being stubborn with cash, even if he is being pressured to buy, I still can’t see him wanting to pay around £50m, which is the sort of fee I expect Schalke to command.
