Julian Draxler has turned down late offers from Liverpool and Arsenal to sign for French giants, Paris Saint-Germain in a €45 million move, report ESPN. The 23-year-old has been pushing for a move away from the Volkswagen Arena since the summer.
Reports in France earlier this week hinted at the possibility of the German international joining the Parisian giants. Even RMC, a reputable source, claimed the move was on the verge of completion and now, it seems that the 23-year-old is certainly joining the Ligue 1 defending champions.
Paris Saint-Germain will pay Wolfsburg €35 million up front and will have to cough up a further €10 million based on appearances, victories and other landmarks. Both the parties find the fee to be appropriate as they look to offer the FIFA World Cup winner a three or four-and-a-half year contract at the club.
Draxler's been a hot prospect for a long time in Europe – especially after impressing many with his performances for his former club FC Schalke. Having enjoyed four incredible years at the Ruhr club, Draxler moved to Wolfsburg essentially replacing Manchester City-bound Kevin de Bruyne. But his performances didn't live up to his reputation; that combined with his falling-out with the club's staff further played into Paris Saint-Germain's pursuit of the youngster.
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And having only contributed two assists this season – with the most recent one being the assist for Mario Gomes against Borussia Monchengladbach – Draxler was expendable in the squad. Something we'd never thought we'd say about the 23-year-old.
With the kind of talent on offer, Draxler had a lot of suitors – especially in the Premier League with Arsenal and Liverpool who were supposedly closely monitoring his situation at the VW arena. Arsene Wenger, especially, has been a massive supporter of the 23-year-old, often backing him to succeed with both the club and the national team.
But even they couldn't do much to prevent his move to Paris Saint-Germain. The Gunners were widely expected to put in a bid for the 23-year-old to solve their left-wing conundrum but their inability to churn out the kind of money the French giants have, see them miss out on another one of their prime targets.
Liverpool, meanwhile, could've used Draxler as the kind of inverted winger Jurgen Klopp loves to employ at the Merseyside club. But even they were unable to match the kind of money the Parisian giants were offering Wolfsburg.
