Arsenal
Director Claims Arsenal Made Sizeable Offer For €45m-Rated Midfielder Last Month
A director has claimed that Arsenal DID make a sizeable offer for a €45m-rated attacking midfielder in January. Find out who the player in question is here.
The January transfer window may have slammed shut but clubs will still be working hard behind the scenes at identifying targets for the summer, so we’ll bring you all the latest news, gossip and rumours. Today, Gooner Mac brings us news of Arsenal’s bid for Julian Draxler.
Schalke have confirmed that Arsenal DID make a sizeable offer for Julian Draxler last month but it didn’t meet the German’s valuation of the attacking midfielder, according to the Mirror.
Draxler was one of the big transfer stories during the January window with widespread reports throughout the month suggesting that Arsenal were in talks with Schalke to try and bring the 20-year-old to the Emirates.
Arsene Wenger remained coy over his pursuit of the attacking midfielder amid speculation that he refused to sanction a formal bid for the player, despite the Arsenal board’s willingness to back the Frenchman with what would have been another huge investment from the club.
However, it seems we did in fact make an official bid but Schalke sporting director Horst Heldt has claimed that although our offer was ‘a lot of money’, it wasn’t enough to persuade the Bundesliga outfit to sell their star man.
When asked about Arsenal’s offer for Draxler on German television channel SPORT1, Heldt said:
“It was a lot of money, but it wasn’t enough for us,” Heldt is quoted as saying by the Mirror
Draxler has a buy-out clause worth €45m (£37m), which only comes into effect in the summer, but it’s been reported that Schalke would have been willing to do business at this price in January. Although Wenger refused to meet this figure, it appears he did at least make a concerted effort to sign the player.
Wenger has been rightly criticised by fans and pundits for not investing in the squad last month and I just hope his reluctance to pay the going rate for Draxler doesn’t end up costing us during the final months of the season.
We’re now through to the last 8 of the FA Cup and well positioned in the Premier League table with 12 games to go, so we’ve got two realistic opportunities to lift some silverware this season. The addition of a player like Draxler would have been a huge boost to our hopes and I pray we won’t end up ruing not buying the attacker when we had the chance.
READ MORE –> Arsenal transfer news
Are you still disappointed we didn’t sign Draxler last month? Share your views below.
