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Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Julian Draxler looks set to leave the Parc Des Princes this January, with his deal at the French champions set to run out in the summer.
The 27-year-old hasn’t managed to establish himself as a regular first-team player since his move to the French capital in 2017 and has played just 434 minutes this campaign, as well as playing 90 minutes in just four of the Parisian’s sides 27 Ligue 1 matches last season.
Arsenal are the favourites to sign Draxler from PSG at the odds of 2/1. So far this season the Gunners have been hampered by a lack of creativity and are the 13th highest goal scorers in the Premier League, a statistic which manager Mikel Arteta will be desperate to improve upon if he is to be a success at the Emirates Stadium.
With fellow German midfielder Mesut Ozil being rumoured to be in talks with MLS outfit DC United and in the final year of his contract with the Gunners, as well as the fact that Arsenal could get Draxler on a cut-price fee, it would suit Arteta’s side, as they would get a high-quality attacking midfielder without spending much of their remaining transfer budget, which could be used to strengthen other areas of their team.
Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United are also rumoured to be interested in the German midfielder, having failed to negotiate a successful deal last summer for Udinese man Rodrigo De Paul. Leeds’s centre of midfield has struggled for goals, as Polish man Mateusz Klich is the only player to have found the back of the net this season from that area of the pitch so far, scoring three times, of which two of these came from the penalty spot, with the other being scored on the opening day at Anfield in his side’s 4-3 loss to Liverpool.
Draxler is priced at 7/2 and would be a suitable alternative to Bielsa’s initial target De Paul and would come at a far cheaper price due to the German’s current contract ending in the summer, as stated above.
Italian giants Inter Milan have also been linked with a move for Draxler, with former Chelsea manager Antonio Conte looking to shift Christian Eriksen from his side’s wage bill to make space for new signings. Inter’s CEO Giuseppe Marotta recently said "Yes, I can confirm that Eriksen is on the transfer list. He's going to leave in January. He's not functional to our plans and he had difficulty here at Inter. I think it's right that Christian goes away to find more space".
Conte has often opted to use the 3-4-3 formation which served him so well at Chelsea and is looking for more central midfield options to bulk up his squad and to compliment the likes of Arturo Vidal, with Draxler fitting the bill due to his high amounts of energy, as well as being able to provide the creativity that Vidal doesn’t have as he is a defensive-minded player.
Inter are priced at 6/1 to sign Draxler from PSG.
Serie A league leaders AC Milan are priced at 15/2 to sign the PSG man, with the Rossoneri looking at alternatives to Turkish midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu, as the former Bayer Leverkusen man’s contract alike Draxler’s is set to expire in the summer.
Calhanoglu is rumoured to have been in talks with the likes of Manchester United and plays a similar role to the German, as the 26-year-old can play as an attacking midfielder or a winger. This would be a suitable move for AC, as they will need a high-quality replacement for the Turkish man, who has made eight-goal contributions in Serie A this campaign, including scoring a brace in a 3-2 win vs Lazio at the San Siro last month.
