At one point Liverpool were the Premier League club most linked with a move for Leon Goretzka, but now it seems Arsenal are the chosen ones. A couple of weeks ago German newspaper Bild claimed Schalke are worried about the player’s future because of interest from Arsenal and Juventus, and similar has been claimed today.
Both the Turin club and Arsenal are named again, and Bild say that without a renewal, Goretzka could be off in the summer, the price has been put at €25m. The 22 year old’s contract runs out in June 2018, and without a renewal Schalke will be minded to sell, fearful of losing the player for free in a year.
Goretzka is an all round central midfielder, not restricted to attacking or defensive duties. Already a full German international, there’s a big future predicted for the player and Arsene Wenger interest is no surprise.
In Germany players are automatically linked with Liverpool because of Jurgen Klopp, with Arsenal it’s more because of Wenger’s history of signing German players, with Per Mertesacker, Mesut Ozil and Shkodran Mustafi currently at the club.
Arsenal’s interest is further justified by recent comments from Peter Neururer, Goretzka’s coach at VfL Bochum: “The boy is on the way to absolute world class. I’m sure Leon Goretzka will be a big name in German football and a solid figure in the national team.
“It will be hard for Schalke to keep Goretzka. Because the boy has to play internationally (in Europe) on a permanent basis in order to develop and to keep his chances in the national team.”
If Arsene Wenger fancies a midfield shake-up, he could do a lot worse than Leon Goretzka.
