Andre Schurrle: Will Wolfsburg Recoup Chelsea's Bad Investment?

Rather than wait for German right attacking midfielder Andre Schurrle, 24, to come good, Chelsea might be able to recoup their investment in him if Wolfsburg play ball.

Schurrle has informed Chelsea of his preference to join Wolfsburg, per Sky Sports.

• What is the current transfer situation?
• Should Chelsea give up on a FIFA World Cup winner? 
• Why are Wolfsburg interested in an inconsistent footballer?

To set the transfer in motion, it is up to Schurrle to be proactive and Wolfsburg to submit a substantial offer, according to Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho.

"The question is not to be allowed or not allowed," Mourinho said, per BBC Sport. "The question is to have a phenomenal offer and [Schurrle] to be super keen of accepting a new challenge in his career."

Richard Heathcote/Getty Images

The current status of Chelsea's investment in Schurrle is substandard.

Since the 2013-14 season:

• Schurrle has scored 11 goals and registered two assists in 44 English Premier League games. It is poor production for a supposed world-class footballer. 
• A 7.1 goals-per-shot average is wasteful (Diego Costa takes 3.6 shots per goal).
• Schurrle shots on target/shots taken is 24/78 (30.8 shooting accuracy percentage), which is as ineffective as Dennis Schroder shooting threes.
• Completing 37.5 percent of dribbles (24/64) means Schurrle loses the ball 62.5 percent of the time he attempts a take on. 
• Schurrle only starts 45.5 percent of games he is involved in, so he is a luxury rotation player.

Despite Schurrle's struggles, there is a perception he can replicate his 2014 FIFA World Cup-final performance for Germany on a regular basis for Chelsea. 

Yes, Schurrle deserves plaudits having created the winning goal for Mario Gotze against Argentina.

Though, if you bring up Schurrle's World Cup-final display as a reason to ignore his current dismal form for Chelsea, here is why it is a weak counterpoint.

Rewind back to the 2002 FIFA World Cup final—Germany 0-2 Brazil.

Guess the name of this Brazilian World Cup winner, per FIFA.com:

"

[redacted] then took matters into his own hands, but his long-range shot cannoned off the crossbar.

[...]

Brazil's [redacted], contrary to popular belief, is a free-spirited attacking midfield player, and he, in harmony with wing wizards Cafu and Roberto Carlos, began to offer greater support.

[...]

[redacted] broke down the right-hand side, and played a firm, angled pass in the direction of Rivaldo and Ronaldo Luis.

Rivaldo's awareness of the speed on the ball and the match situation encouraged him to let it run through his legs to his waiting teammate.

Ronaldo took the pace off the ball and then guided it into the bottom corner of the net.

"

Ronaldinho? Nope. 

Denilson de Oliveira? Try again. 

Juninho Paulista? Wrong. 

It was Jose Kleberson, who went on to become a transfer flop at Manchester United, per Daniel Taylor at The Guardian:

"

Kleberson's dismal statistics have put Manchester United in a weak position as they seek a return on the €7.93/£5.93 million they paid Atletico Paranaense in August 2003.

Sir Alex Ferguson has become increasingly irritated at the lack of consistency of a player who arrived with a World Cup winners' medal in his suitcase.

"It's difficult to say what the situation [with Kleberson] is," Ferguson said. "He's a terrific footballer, he's Brazilian and he wants to play in the first team."

"

Like Ferguson not getting the best out of Kleberson, Mourinho has been unable to maximise Schurrle's potential. 

However, the transfer situations of Kleberson and Schurrle are different.

Manchester United abandoned the Kleberson project selling him to Besiktas in 2005 for €3.3/£2.5 million, incurring a €4.63/£3.43 million loss. 

Whereas, Wolfsburg have publicly stated there is "nothing to report" but are privately mulling over an estimated €30/£22.4 million transfer fee to sign Schurrle, per Sport Informations Dienst (h/t Stephan Uersfeld at ESPN FC).

• Bayer Leverkusen → Chelsea: €24.1/£18 million (2013).
• Chelsea → Wolfsburg (hypothetical): €30/£22.4 million (2015).

If Wolfsburg stump up the cash, Chelsea stand to make a convenient €5.9/£4.4 million profit, as opposed to discarding Schurrle for a significant loss.

What's in it for Wolfsburg?

You surmise signing Schurrle would indicate Wolfsburg partly basing the decision on Kevin De Bruyne's success.

"[Mourinho] wasn't keen to let me go, not even on loan, saying: 'You're a good player'," De Bruyne said, per Het Laatste Nieuws (h/t Adam Shergold and Matt Barlow at the Daily Mail).

"But what could I do more? I lost three kilos ... [nonetheless] my situation never changed. That's why I asked [Mourinho] in a friendly way: 'please let me go'."

Despite playing 132 minutes over three Premier League games for Chelsea, Wolfsburg spent €22/£16.5 million on De Bruyne.

• Genk → Chelsea: €9/£6.7 million (2012).
• Chelsea → Wolfsburg: €22/£16.5 million (2014).

It was a win-win situation for all parties involved.

• Chelsea recorded a €13/£9.8 million profit.
• Wolfsburg accurately projected De Bruyne being an upgrade over Diego Ribas.
• De Bruyne was given a new lease on life.

De Bruyne leads the German Bundesliga in assists (10) and is the driving force behind Wolfsburg becoming Germany's second best club this season.

League 2014-15	Andre Schurrle	Vieirinha
Goals/Games Played	3/14	1/16
Goals Per Game	0.21	0.06
Shots Per Goal	7	20
Assists	0	3
Key Passes Per 90 Mins.	1.2	1.6
Pass Success %	79	69.9
Dribbles Per 90 Mins.	2.9	2.7
Dribble Success %	35.7	64.7

Vieirinha, Wolfsburg's starting right attacking midfielder, is 29 years old and on an expiring contract.

Even with Schurrle not in form, he has scored more goals and is a more accurate passer than Vieirinha. 

In addition, Schurrle has a higher upside being five years younger than Vieirinha.

With Wolfsburg looking to consolidate second place, it makes sense why they would upgrade their right wing, presumably hoping Schurrle can transform his career like De Bruyne has.

More importantly, it gives Chelsea a chance to turn a risky investment in Schurrle into a neat profit.

+allanjiang.

When not specified, statistics via WhoScored.com.