Gotze to Join Juventus as Part of Vidal Deal?
In an interesting development to the ongoing saga of Arturo Vidal’s impending move to Bayern Munich from Juventus, multiple reports have surfaced, indicating that the Bundesliga outfit may be prepared to offer Mario Gotze as a makeweight in the deal.
Earlier this week, it seemed Vidal’s transfer to Bayern was imminent. However club executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has insisted no deal has yet been completed for the Chilean. But Corriere dello Sport has now reported that one aspect of the deal could see Gotze headed in the opposite direction.
Since moving to Bayern from Borussia Dortmund, the World Cup-winning goalscorer has found it tougher than expected to nail down a regular spot in Pep Guardiola’s team. While it may not seem the most obvious move at first glance, leaving Bayern for Juve would at least bring a guarantee of first team footballer for the 23-year-old; something that will be vital in the run-up to Euro 2016 next summer.
Earlier this summer Gotze’s agent, Volker Struth, accused Guardiola of having “destroyed” the former Dortmund playmaker during his time at Bayern. Meanwhile German football icons like Olivier Khan and Dietmar Hamaan have urged Gotze to leave Bayern, lest he see his talent wasted by spending his peak years on the bench.
With Andre Pirlo already gone and Vidal and Paul Pogba likely to soon follow him out the door, Juve is in need of a midfield rebuild. Gotze, who during his time at Dortmund, established himself as one of the most promising young playmakers in Europe, is the sort of player the Turin outfit could build around in the center of the park. Versatile and capable of playing as a striker or on either wing in addition to as a playmaker, Gotze is also the kind of utility attacker Juve may require in the coming season, as it looks to adjust to the loss of key players like Pirlo, Carlos Tevez, and probably, Vidal and Pogba.
Gotze also has the advantage of being familiar with Juve’s marquee signing this summer, Mario Mandzukic. The German playmaker and the Croatian striker spent a season together at Bayern.
However any deal to bring Gotze to Juve could mean seeing off reported interest from Arsenal. The Premier League outfit has also been linked with the midfielder. And of course all of this is pending on whether Bayern would be willing to let Gotze go in the first place. In the same press conference in which he indicated the Vidal deal was not yet done, Rummenigge poured cold water on the Gotze-to-Juve rumors.
“There is nothing to approve about these rumors,” said Rummenigge. However the former Bayern and Germany striker stopped short of ruling it out entirely, adding that he didn’t want to “approve or exclude anything.”