Barcelona are reportedly interested in signing versatile Paris Saint-Germain star Julian Draxler and are willing to pay €12 million for the German.
According to a report from El Nacional, Barcelona have cast their eyes towards a move for Paris Saint-Germain attacking midfielder Julian Draxler who will be allowed to leave the club in the January transfer window.
Draxler has been with Paris Saint-Germain for nearly five years now, having signed in January 2017 from German outfit VfL Wolfsburg. However, the 28-year-old has never been able to nail down a starting berth in the star-studded Les Parisiens outfit. He has made 188 appearances for the French giants scoring 26 goals and setting up 41 more.
Draxler signed a new contract with PSG earlier this year in May, extending his stay at the club till 2024. However, he does not feature in the plans of manager Mauricio Pochettino, as indicated by the fact that he has started just four Ligue 1 matches in the ongoing campaign. So, even though his deal has over two years, the Parisian outfit are ready to let him as early as January.
Barcelona have now emerged as suitors for the 28-year-old German international. The Catalans are in the market for reinforcements in the final third, having struggled for goals in the ongoing campaign. Injuries have hampered the La Liga bigwigs a great deal, while some of the attacking players have massively underperformed too.
So, manager Xavi Hernandez is keen on bringing in new faces in the attacking line, with names like Ferran Torres, Hakim Ziyech, Christian Pulisic, among others, linked. And the latest in the line of targets for Barcelona, as per the report mentioned above, is Julian Draxler.
While not necessarily a natural winger, the 28-year-old can play out wide on both flanks but is best used as a central attacking midfielder. In recent times at PSG, he has also shown the capability of operating in deeper roles in the middle of the park as well. And, the report states that this sort of versatility appeals massively to Barça manager Xavi.
Furthermore, Draxler is a vastly experienced customer and, at 28, still has several years left to offer at the highest level. Hence, Barcelona are now pondering a move for the former VfL Wolfsburg playmaker in January, with Joan Laporta believed to be willing to pay €12 million for him. It is further claimed that PSG would not stand in the way of an exit despite the strained relationship between the two clubs.
So, it remains to be seen if Barcelona decide to act on their reported interest in Draxler next month or decide to rope in a different player to strengthen their attacking contingent.
