Reports: €69 million forward set to reject Arsenal for Real Madrid in January

France v Brazil - International Friendly
Zidane could pull off a masterstroke this January

What's the story?

The winter transfer window promises to be one filled with promise and sparkle - just as the summer window this time around was one hell of a blockbuster event - and if the good folk at the Daily Star are to be believed, January could be one of great joy for Real Madrid.

The Madridistas who are retaining all their players left right and center (Marco Asensio just signed a contract extension today) have plans to add to their already incredible squad and Arsenal are all set to be the losers - with the addition of sensational German forward/winger Julian Draxler.

The winger, who appears to be surplus to requirements at Paris Saint-Germain, is rated at a decent enough €69 million by the French giants and has been wanted by Arsenal for quite a while now. However, Zidane's interest in the German seems to have sealed the fate of this transfer.

In case you didn't know

Draxler joined PSG only in January this year, and this summer had made the decision to stay and fight for his place. Seeing the kind of form Messrs Edinson Cavani, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe are in, though, it's unlikely that he will get much by the way of first-team action - and even if he does start it's likely to be in the smaller Ligue 1 and Coupe de France matches.

The heart of the matter

While he may actually get more first-team minutes at Arsenal than with Real Madrid, the European Champions' pedigree and Zinedine Zidane's guarantee of continuous rotation might tempt the German who will be desperate to make it to the first-choice XI for Joachim Low's Germany in Russia 2018

Video

Julian is quite the joy to watch when in full flow:

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The lad really can play, and it's slightly disheartening to see him fade into the shadows at PSG

Author's Take

Real Madrid have a very successful, very deep, squad that Zidane and Perez felt did not need much by the way of reinforcement - especially in the attacking areas. But Karim Benzema's injury highlighted the danger they run constantly - with Gareth Bale's injury prone body and the need for Cristiano Ronaldo's aging body to get more rest as the gruelling season wears on, buying someone of the calibre of Draxler may actually be quite a smart move for Los Blancos

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