Julian Draxler: Gerrard & Lampard “could play in every team”

Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard

Germany’s Julian Draxler has admitted that he admires English football and would love to play in the Premier League one day for a ‘big team’.

Speaking to BBC Sport ahead of Germany’s friendly clash with England, Draxler also believes that Germany will be one of the favourites for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

“I like English football. I like the Premier League of course – it’s one of the best leagues in the world,” Draxler said. “You have big clubs like Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea – of course it’s a big dream to play for one of them.

“I have my favourite team, but at the moment I’m at Schalke. I don’t want to talk about other clubs. If I state Arsenal or Manchester United, maybe I’d read it tomorrow in the newspapers.”

Germany are set to take on England at Wembley on Tuesday night in a friendly, and Draxler could be set to appear in the much-anctipated game.

“I think we can say we are one of the favourites, but there are a lot of very strong nations,” Draxler added. “The World Cup in Brazil is always something special – we have the temperature and different climate to consider. I think we can do very well and reach the final.”

Draxler also pinpointed Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney as England’s main threat, and admitted his admiration for Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard.

“For the starting XI, I think Wayne Rooney. I like him very much. Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard could play in every team in the world so why not for Germany?”

The Schalke star is currently leading the club’s Squawka Performance Score charts by some distance with 271.