If reports across the weekend are to be believed, Mario Götze is close to securing his future and Arsenal won’t be the destination.
The German attacking midfielder has been told by incoming Bayern Munich manager Carlo Ancelotti that he won’t be a first team regular from the start of next season and should look for a move elsewhere if he wants to play a lot of football.
With a contract that has just one year remaining, Bayern are happy to sell for between £15m and £20m this summer and Liverpool appear to be the favourites.
Jürgen Klopp coached Götze to two Bundesliga titles and a Champions League final at Dortmund and negotiations are supposedly ongoing between the two clubs to seal a deal.
There is a twist, though, as Borussia Dortmund are interested in taking Götze back to the Westfalenstadion after he left so controversially three years ago. According to German publication kicker‘s print edition on Monday, the midfielder has to choose between Klopp and Thomas Tuchel.
The whole situation begs one question: why aren’t Arsenal involved?
The Gunners have reportedly made an enquiry but haven’t actually opened talks with Bayern for some reason. We ended the season with Alex Iwobi proving the value of a wide playmaker and Götze excelled in the position, one Santi Cazorla took up for the 2013/14 season, at Dortmund when Shinji Kagawa was at number 10.
There’s still no true backup for Mesut Özil, who played 45 games last season, in north London and Götze would fit the bill perfectly.
A striker, another role the German can arguably play, is the priority but passing on the opportunity to sign Götze could be something Arsenal come to regret if they don’t make a play for him soon.