by Lee Hurley

Lukas Podolski has been warned by Joachim Loew that he needs to be playing 30 or 40 matches a season if he is to make the Euro finals next summer.

The Arsenal man (for now) is close to agreeing a deal with Galatasaray which should see him put an end to his recent playing drought, struggling for minutes with both the Gunners and during his loan spell in Milan with Inter.

Speaking to the media, the German manager said “I want him to play, at least 30 or 40 games.

“He can sometimes be the joker. He needs to play. For two years he was without proper match practice and that is no good basis for Euro 2016 to be able to be there.”

Of course, we assume that Poldi will get the required playing time in Turkey but much depends on his own on-pitch attitude. Shirking the harder side of the game, he has come in for heavy criticism and was branded a total flop during his time at Inter.

He looks set to agree a deal with Gala that will see him become the joint highest earner with a salary topped up by bonuses.

A fee between the two clubs has yet to be agreed with the Turks wishing to pay £2.5m and Arsenal seeking double that.