Wolfsburg have taken evasive action to kill speculation that Julian Draxler could leave the Volkswagen Arena this summer.
Yesterday, Bild published an interview with the winger in which he declared his eagerness to quit the Bundesliga outfit.
“I want to leave Wolfsburg,” he said. “The coach knows for more than three weeks.
“Two days after the semi-final at the European Championships I told him how I see the whole situation and what I want – which is to leave the club.
“It was always clear between all parties that I would like to go to a top international club if the opportunity arises.”
It was a bold move designed to force the hand of his employers, but it appears not to have worked.
After hauling the player in for a meeting, Wolfsburg have released the following statement:
“The Supervisory Committee and the Board of Directors at VfL Wolfsburg Fußball-GmbH feel the need to comment on the interview with Julian Draxler which was published in the ‘BILD’ newspaper, in order to clarify the current situation and dispel any possible resulting rumours.
“VfL Wolfsburg wish to make it absolutely clear that at no time did those responsible at the club make either written nor oral commitments on the transfer of Julian Draxler within the current transfer period, which is due to end on August 31st, 2016. This is reiterated by a contractual release clause agreed upon with Julian Draxler and his management, which does not come into effect until summer 2017. VfL Wolfsburg will not be selling Julian Draxler during the course of the current transfer period.
“In joint discussions with Julian Draxler, VfL Wolfsburg again made it clear that they would not be granting the player’s wish to make a move. We now consider any possible uncertainties to have been eradicated and that all parties can revert back to a professional and responsible collaboration for the good of VfL Wolfsburg and, in particular, for our fans.”
Draxler has been on Arsenal’s radar for quite some time but it appears this is a move that won’t be happening anytime soon. Oh well. Next…
They can’t blame him for wanting to leave after finishing 8th and having to play with TGSTEL.
Anyone who knows where he’s going next season?
This is one of Wenger’s August 31 signing. Marhez vs Draxler, who do you prefer?
both.
Juve will probably sign him for a ridiculously low fee
To be honest if there was any respect left in football he should be honouring what the team paying him millions of dollars wants to do, but wait this is football and these spoilt brats gets what they want
We have had our own share of spoilt brats: Anelka,RVP, Fabregas. Nasri. Good to know Marhez or perhaps this guy will do same to come to Arsenal.
So we can have another brat?
Mahrez is handling all this very professionally, staying out of the media. Focusing on training games, not bad mouthing team or teammates…Draxler acting a bit like Nasri…do we want a guy like that…again?!
Gimme Mahrez anyday
He is a brat if he’s lying. If he’s not, and wolfsburg are messing him around, then he has every right to go public. Why should he shut up and respect a club if they have told him something and are not honoring it? because he’s earning a lot of money? Thats never justification for a club to do whatever they want, and we all know clubs are just as capable of lying to players as players are of lying about clubs
Love it how he is a spoiled Brat
He has to sacrifice his lifestyle from a very young age, by living to a specific set of very high standards, dictated to him by his employer, he should be expected to move to a different country to work at a givens notice, constant travel around Europe with work, constantly guarded against the worlds media, role model for people and he also has a very short shelf life as far as his career goes
so yeah, Id be demanding significant compensation
Having to play with TGSTEL should be insulting enough to leave the country.
Honestly, i don’t see the buzz around him among you, guys. I like him, he seems to be a very nice young man, but while he was fantastic against Slovakia, he was disappointing during the Euro. Weak, no idea, no good ball control… I rate him, but we need a striker NOW, not a maybe possibly one day… striker especially not for the price Wolfsburg would want (if Sané costs 50M€, i can imagine Wolfsburg asking for at least 40M€). We’ve got enough of talent at home! Bring Campbell on a daily basis and he’ll be better. For me, he… Read more »
I’m having a laugh if you actually think Joel Campbell is better than Draxler.
Wolfsburg do not have CL to offer and therefore, he wants out. They can say what they want but when you have an unhappy player, you are often better getting rid.
Note – we all laugh at the 4th place trophy, but finish outside of CL and see what happens to a player like Sanchez.
Yes united and chelsea sure have problem keeping players and attracting new monster signings
Everbody believes they will bounce back.
Not even many Gooners seem to think we’d bounce back if we finished outside the top 4, going by this place.
Chelsea and Man united have a board that solely care about their respective clubs, and will splash out about any money to keep or add to their squad.
Look at how United handled the Rooney situation. 300k a week. Not saying he’s worth that, but they did their best to keep their captain.
Do you think that Arsenal would do their upmost to keep ozil or Sanchez if we lose CL? Doubt it. You’ll see a headline that says “it’s time for Iwobi to step up in place of Sanchez” lol.
Campbell better than Draxler? I rate the Costa Rican but that’s hard for me to see.
And tell me who we’re going to go out and buy that’s a ready-made striker today. It’s not like Draxler is some unknown kid from Ligue 2 who we’re hoping to develop over 5 years; he could make a meaningful contribution today.
Where could he have a meaningful contribution? As a striker? Then why didn’t Löw use him as a n°9 during the Euro while we know Germany needs a 9. Löw preferred Götze or Müller as a 9 and NEVER Draxler. We need a striker, not another winger.
First of all, Gotze and Muller are both already established strikers. Are the knockout stages of a major tournament the right place to try someone out in a new position that requires some leadership? Second, of course he wouldn’t hit the ground as some incredible striker, but these things take time! Since when are we stocked on wingers? People are clamoring for Mahrez to come in but then turn around and say we don’t need a wide player. If Draxler can contribute from the wings early in the season and help cover for Giroud late in the season after having… Read more »
Sorry, I made a mistake about Gotze. Had Gomez in my head for some reason. My point largely remains, although I know Muller doesn’t exactly play 9 all the time for Bayern.
He almost never does.
If he was Bayerns nr. 9, he would have left 5 years ago…they only keep strikers around for 2-3 years, no matter how well they do.
Campbell can do just that.
You are hereby the master of umlauts.
A) If his Club was willing to sell him
B) If he was able to acclimatise himself to the PL
C) If he was still able to perform at his perceived level once he was faced with 10 players behind the ball in virtually every game he played in the PL
No player is guaranteed to succeed when coming to the PL
Draxler is better than Theo, Campbell, Ox and anything we have at rw. He can play as an AM and he has potential. He has accomplished more than those guys
Can you tell us what Draxler has accomplished?
More than you.
See, there’s this thing called The World Cup and…
Draxler played the last 15 minutes of the final. Didn’t play apart from that. Mahrez over Draxler, I think most would agree. But damn straight he would be a great addition and definitely walk into our starting line up
Would rather take Mahrez, myself
I’d rather have Messi than either, but at this point I’d be over the moon if we signed any of them.
He and Aaron do have matching hair already…
Ummm…. you are basing your evaluation of Draxler on a couple games during the Euros? Even if that, he was tearing fullbacks a new asshole on the wing. He’s a German Mahrez, I do not exaggerate. He’d make almost the same impact DeBruyne had last year for Man City.
Truly, guys, i rate Draxler and i watch all the games of Germany. You see him from Youtube best-ofs? This is not enough. You don’t see the talent in your own ranks, it’s a pity (and i don’t think of Theo).
Don’t worry to be specific, we are interested. Are you a Wolfsburg fan? Can you compare him to Arsenal players?
Totally agree. He’s still a work in progress, and we have plenty if these already. We need the finished article, not a project.
Why do you build me up(build me up) Arseblog just to let me down.
And worst of all,we didn’t sign Vardy like you we will,but we love you still.
Buttercup
One for the teenagers.
That’s why I love this site. You dont get comedy like this on SSN. Even if they have better looking journalists.
I love you guys.
*sigh*
What’s Yossi Benayoun up to these days?
Last week he helped his team in Israel to eliminate Arshavin’s team from Europa Leageue (I kid you not).
he is a great young player; but thank you Wofsburg for saving us from the clickbaits. maybe next year…
City just bought a young striker from Brazil for 27m. How about Arsene placing a bid for Kelechi. He scored last season whenever he played and looks like he’s got a bright future. Agree?
Jeez this is all wearing very thin now isn’t it … just want the players signed so we know where we stand and we can actually enjoy some football again.
Could this not just be a case of Wolfsburg saying they want more money?
Well, normally, in that case they say something like “he’s our player, we’re not going to sell him, unless we get an offer so crazy we are unable to refuse it.”
You have to respect clubs who do what they can to keep hold of their best players even in some cases making them stay till their contract runs out rather than selling to a rival willingly.
To often i’ve felt we have not done enough to keep hold of our best players. For example if we forced to Van Persie to honor his contract i doubt he would have wanted to join united after Fergie retired and United would not have won the league without his goals.
I don’t know about this one. There aren’t many jobs where an employer can compel you to stay against your will for years. It seems a bit wrong to me.
Its not wrong. These guys are paid freaking millions. They need to suck it up and do what they are paid for instead of chucking a tantrum when they don’t get exactly what they want…prima-donas!! This sort of behaviour smacks of Samir Nasri. Do we really want a repeat of that. Clearly something is going on with Mahrez, whether its Arsenal or not (otherwise Claudio wouldn’t be making his comments every day or two begging him to stay), but despite [seeming] to want a move he is being professional about it, working hard in training and preparing for the season.… Read more »
…but it works. Don’t hate the player, hate the game.
its their choice to “play the game”. Many players out there still act professionally. Just look at Koscienly, utter pro. People still got to take responsibility for what they do, doesn’t matter if you are a millionaire or someone scraping by in poverty…always good and bad people
Its not wrong. He signed a contract, and he is not nearing the end of it. He is legally required to fulfill the terms of that contract, as are Wolfsburg, unless they mutually agree to some sort of new arrangement. Their agreement that he can leave when he gets a big offer is probably the release clause in the contract that kicks in in 2017, assuming they are telling the truth. So if they say he must stay this season then he must stay. He will be concerned about keeping his career on track during this time, so he will… Read more »
Oh man, the NHL, ice hockey, does a draft and whatver team gets you has you until you are 26/27. Footie players have it so easy and can sign anywhere they want, way too much player power in footie.
Although not specifically related to Draxler, I would just like to point out that Arsenal have been trying to sign a striker since the summer transfer window of 2013. That is 6 transfer windows, now well into the 7th. Of course you could say Welbeck, but I dont think even Wenger actually thought he would displace Giroud.
I could say Sanchez.
Everybody seem to forget that Draxler is extremely injury prone; we don’t need more of that. Besides he would cost an awful lot and Wenger won’t pay that anyways
I guess we all held back out poops for nothing.
Lewandowski
Bless you.
Sign Mahrez to play on the right, play Sanchez down the middle as a striker, he could be as effective as Aguero in that position Imo. Striker Problem solved!
And then we’d have a problem on who to play on the left. We can’t rely on Walcott nor Ox.
Iwobi, Ox, Campbell, Gnabry, Welbeck, Jeff are all more than capable
Can people please remember we have Giroud!
I totally agree with using Alexi from time-to-time at Striker and he is a top class striker already (even better on the wing, but brilliant striker). I also agree that this would allow Iwobi to play on the left.
But Giroud is a VERY good player especially when he can be rested and kept fresh. For these reasons (and others about not liking Draxlers attitude right now) I would prefer Mahrez freeing up Alexi to rotate into the striker position at times
Iwobi, Ox, Campbell, Ramsey (either on the left or on the right with Mahrez on the left), even Cazorla.
I’m not suggesting we play Sanchez as CF in every game, but it’s definitely an option that might be worth trying for games where Giroud isn’t what we need.
Guys please stop this – Alexis has never been and will never be a no9. And Wenger is not some silver-haired Gandalf who’ll magically make it happen.
We need Alexis to do “Alexis things” all over the pitch, and a striker who can combine with him, feed off his key passes and create space for others with clever movement.
He has played many games as a second striker for Chile…and killed it
Same old
Excellent talent, and any other window I’d be upset with links to him being dismissed, but with the Mahrez interest looking very substantial I can’t say I’m massively bothered by this news.
Next: “Takuma Asano granted a work permit”
Forget Draxler, Mahrez & co, Arsenal is a business which focus on economics and do not prioritize sporting ambitions. That’s it.
If that were the case Ozil and Sanchez would be up for sale.
Id much prefer Mahrez.
I also admire Wolfsburg for not taking shit from an upstart player. It’s something I’d wished we’d done many a time over the years.
He’s a year into his contract, not a year from the end of it. They have every right to expect him to do his job as per the contract.
Sky bet suspended bets on mahrez to Arsenal . Has to be a good sign
but i just finished spending the last few hours getting excited that we might sign him….
Better for is so we can go all in for mahrez and not be in no mans land coying who to get and at the end we don’t get neither. get mahrez get lacazzette and next year as wolbsurg said Draxler will have release close he can be our signing next summer.
He’ll be looking for a bigger team than us next year. We’re pretty low down the pecking order in the PL most years, let alone in Europe. Our plusses are Champions League next season (which 40-odd other teams also have), and Arsene Wenger (unique to us, but now has some really tough competition within the PL… Klopp, Conte, etc).
If Draxler comes then it proves that my incredible Football Manager career was totally worth it.
Come on m8
I think if Draxler’s price comes down to 38-42m, Wenger may consider. That’ll leave Wenger with roughly 10-15m for a Cback. Difficult at the moment as prices are all so inflated. Wenger may do the reverse now and land the Cback first bc of BFG’s injury and need for the new Cback to settle before start of season which is close. Prices could cool later end of window particularly if likes of City have spent their wad and the prospective competitors to us fall off. So it also depends on how much of a pain it is for Wolfsburg to… Read more »
#FreeDraxler
“VfL Wolfsburg wish to make it absolutely clear that at no time did those responsible at the club make either written nor oral commitments”. Hehe
Any club can be persuaded to part with a player if enough money is offered.
Would it not make business sense to then buy him this summer and loan him back to Wolfsburg? I see Draxler commanding over $150 million next summer and Arsenal would go back to their usual “had I known” singsong
City linked to a player…city sign the player within the week. Arsenal linked with a player, player ends up at another club, stays at their own club or the club tell us to fuck off. Standard.
And now I read in the French media that Wolfsburg put a price tag on Draxler: 60 millions euros
As an arsenal fan I would just like to ask my follow kin a few questions. Whether your Arsene In or out one thing is clear. Whoever is in involved with transfer and indentifying players to come to Arsenal must leave the club, or at the least the person creating bottle necks needs to go. Firstly, why do always never seem to know, what we need to offer a player and a club prior to the window? We treat every transfer window as “we are looking on the market” line. For how many seasons do you have to look (considering… Read more »