According to a report from Goal.com, Arsenal’s World Cup winning forward, Lukas Podolski, has been told he can leave the North London club.
Podolski, 29, arrived back late to Arsenal after Germany’s World Cup win this summer and the forward is said to be on his way to Italian side Juventus. However, reports now suggest that Podolski has offers from a number of other clubs including Woflsburg, Olympiakos, Galatasaray and, more surprisingly, the New York Red Bulls.
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The German attacker signed from Cologne in 2012 and has scored 28 goals in 69 appearances for the Gunners in all competitions. However last season he spent plenty of time on the bench and despite being full fit last weekend, Arsene Wenger did not include Podolski in his 18-man squad for the 2-2 draw at Everton.
A move to Juventus looks likely as the Gunners try to raise come cash to sign one more midfield player before the window shuts next week.
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Podolski heading to MLS seems like a long shot for a number of reasons. The Gunners are said to be asking for $20 million for his signature and the transfer window has already slammed shut in North America with only loan signings allowed until Sept. 16. With the future of RBNY’s DP duo Thierry Henry and Tim Cahill uncertain, maybe Podolski’s potential arrival later in 2014 isn’t too far fetched?Such a move for Podolski seems more likely to come over the MLS offseason, with a loan deal between now and then a likely bargaining tool.
As I said, Podolski heading to MLS seems like a long shot but with the success of Bayern Munich’s U.S. tour this summer and the huge number of German soccer fans packing at Red Bull Arena for Bayern’s friendly vs. Chivas Guadalajara, maybe bringing a big-name German DP to the league makes a whole lot of commercial sense?