by Lewis Ambrose
Starting in January 2014, Arsenal have been linked with Julian Draxler over and over again.
The young German midfielder has had a troubled couple of years with patchy form and niggling injuries, meaning his stock has fallen considerably. Once seen as the future of Schalke, he may now be viewed as dispensable as director Horst Heldt aims to revamp the side along with new head coach Andre Breitenreiter.
Part of that revamp includes interest in Swiss winger Sheridan Shaqiri. The midfielder has signed for Internazionale following a loan spell from Bayern Munich which saw the Milan club obligated to purchase him for around €16M, but they are willing to listen to offers as long as they get their money back.
According to Bild (and anyone familiar with Schalke’s financial situation) it is clear that the Bundesliga side would have to see someone to make way for any new signing – particularly one who would cost that much.
That leaves the futures of German starlets Max Meyer and Julian Draxler up in the air, as they play in similar positions to Shaqiri and are the players who would be most likely to bring in such a fee.
Arsenal would surely be linked with either of the young German talents, but would face plenty of stiff competition with the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United and Real Madrid also linked with the midfielders in the past.