Rebuffed in his attempts to sign Jamie Vardy, 29, Arsène Wenger has turned his attentions to Germany’s World Cup winner, Mario Gotze, 24.
The Arsenal manager was stunned when England international Vardy opted to sign a new 4-year deal at the King Power. With a dearth of available talent at home, Wenger has been forced to look abroad as he seeks a solution to Arsenal’s goalscoring problems.
Gotze is in the final year of his Bayern contract and the Bavarians are determined not to lose him on a free transfer. Having scored the winner in the 2014 World Cup final, Bayern are confident of landing £20m for the striker who has netted 36 goals in his 114 appearances at the club.
If the stalemate continues, Bayern have threatened to leave him out of their Champions League squad, effectively sidelining the player for the season.
Wenger needs a big-name signing this summer to restore faith in him at The Emirates. Despite retaining the full backing of the Arsenal board, questions are being asked of the Frenchman’s attitude toward transfers. With the club’s fans desperate for a title challenge, a new striker is seen by many as pivotal in realising that dream.
Joachim Löw is unperturbed by Gotze’s situation and has picked him for each of Germany’s three group matches at Euro 2016, and is expected to include him in the starting line-up for next week’s Round of Sixteen clash with Slovakia.
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