Manchester United Transfer News: Julian Draxler Eyed After Thomas Muller Blow

Manchester United have given up on signing Thomas Muller from Bayern Munich and now will look to add to their attacking talent with a move for Schalke 04 star Julian Draxler.

That’s according to tuttomercatoweb (h/t Rhys Turrell of the Daily Star) which claim the Red Devils are ready to bid £20 million for the midfielder after admitting defeat in their pursuit of Muller. As noted by Turrell’s piece, Juventus have been strongly linked with a move for Draxler throughout the summer months, but they are struggling to clinch a deal.

Here’s a look at why Draxler is rated as one of the most exciting young players in the Bundesliga:

The Schalke man is certainly a talent who would excite the Old Trafford crowd. Draxler possesses a rapid change of pace, sharp dribbling ability and a thunderous shot from distance. In addition, he’s a superb technician and is capable of pulling off some wonderful moments of individual skill.

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But there are still edges that need smoothing down in his game. Draxler can often vary between fantastic and poor during his time on the field, which is to be expected of any young player, admittedly. Some consistency wouldn’t go amiss, though.

Bleacher Report’s German football expert Clark Whitney hinted at an attitude problem earlier this year too:

Draxler is something of a free spirit and that doesn’t seem to be a seamless fit with Van Gaal’s principles. The Dutchman demands a meticulous, cohesive style of football from his team.

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There’s still plenty for Draxler to prove, and there's a strong argument that the best place for him to do so would be at Schalke. The previous term wasn’t the best one for the midfielder, as he suffered some poor luck with injuries and a dip in form.

Encouragingly, he has scored a long overdue Bundesliga goal already this season, as we can see here courtesy of Squawka Football:

The German is a very special talent and the kind of player who, with the correct fine tuning, could go on to achieve great things. Some prodigious players in his bracket seem primed to move on to the next level in their career and take an illustrious team by storm. But Draxler doesn’t initially strike as that kind of character.

There would be immense pressure on the player to deliver at either United or Juventus, and focusing in on the former, Old Trafford can be a tough venue for youngsters to immediately find their feet. So for now, Draxler would be better off getting another season under his belt in the Bundesliga and if he performs well, the big names will quickly come calling again soon.