Spurs To Make €21.5m Bid For Long-Term Arsenal Target

The summer transfer window is now open for business and it’s expected to be a busy few weeks as managers strengthen their squads ahead of next season, so we’ll bring you all the latest news and gossip. Today, Spurs eye Julian Draxler.

Tottenham Hotspur are set to table an audacious €21.5m (£17m) bid for long-term Arsenal target Julian Draxler within the next few days, according to reports today.

Draxler is one of the most highly-rated young talents to come out of Germany in recent years and has racked up almost 150 appearances for Schalke since breaking into the first team as a 17-year-old in 2011.

His impressive form led to interest from abroad and the 20-year-old has been strongly linked with a move to the Emirates over the last two transfer windows, and the Gunners were widely reported to have been on the verge of securing a €46m (£37m) deal in January before the move fell through during the closing stages of the winter window.

Arsene Wenger was expected to renew his interest this summer but with the club on the verge of sealing a £30m deal for Alexis Sanchez, it now looks unlikely the Frenchman will be in the market for another expensive attacker so any potential deal for Draxler appears off the table.

This could open the door for north London rivals Tottenham with the Metro citing reports coming out of Germany that claim Spurs are set to make a cheeky €21.5m (£17m) bid for Draxler after Mauricio Pochettino identified the youngster as a key target.

However, when you consider Schalke valued the player at over twice Tottenham’s proposed offer just a few months ago, it’s highly likely that the bid will be swiftly rejected by the Bundesliga club.

Whether Spurs will be willing to go any higher remains to be seen, but even if they do match Schalke’s valuation they could face a tough task in persuading Draxler to make the move to White Hart Lane as only last month the player confirmed his plan was to remain in Germany for at least another season.

After also confirming Arsenal’s offer in January, Draxler told reporters:

“In January there was the offer of Arsenal, but I decided to stay,

“I will do the same this summer. I want to play one year more in Schalke.” Source: Guardian

So although Draxler would be an excellent addition to Pochettino’s new-look Tottenham squad, any deal looks unlikely at this stage – particularly if the club only value him at around £17m.