German defender Holger Badstuber is reportedly keen on a move to abroad. The 29-year-old defender has played his entire career in Germany and is currently on the verge of finishing his one year deal with Stuttgart.
The injury-prone defender left Bayern Munich back in 2016/17 and joined his boyhood club Stuttgart on a one year deal. It is now being reported that the player is keen on playing UEFA Champions League football and wants to complete a move to a club who can offer him that.
“Of course, [playing abroad] would be an experience that I would like to make at some stage. There’s interest and offers from abroad,” he told Bild. “My aim is the Champions League, not the Europa League,” he added.
The English clubs should definitely look at this news with great interest as it will allow them to sign a quality defender on a free transfer. Here are 3 clubs who we feel should definitely approach the German defender.
Badstuber has a good relationship with the Manchester City boss and City should try and use that connection to bring him in this summer. “I’m still in touch with Pep regularly throughout the year. We have a good relationship because we understand each other as people very well,” Badstuber said.
Manchester City are coming off the back of an excellent domestic season after winning the league title with record points. They have had some problems in defence, however, with their captain Vincent Kompany out injured for the majority of the season.
Their new signing Aymeric Laporte is relatively young and still needs a little more time to adjust to the physical style of play in England. This will make Badstuber an excellent addition to the team who will not mind being a squad player and will also add valuable experience to the City backline.
Phil Jones, Chris Smalling and Marcos Rojo. While they are decent defenders to fill in as squad players, none of them are good enough to command a starting place in the mighty Manchester United lineup. The Red Devils have been saved on multiple occasions this season by the grace of David De Gea but Eric Bailly desperately needs a more calm, composed and experienced defensive partner who will strengthen the backline.
Badstuber fits the bill perfectly and will be a vital addition to the United team. More importantly, he will perfectly compliment the aggressive nature of Bailly in the heart of the defence.
The Gunners have entered a new era under Unai Emery and the team will need a new direction to succeed without Arsene Wenger. They also lost their veteran defender Per Mertesacker to retirement and Laurent Koscielny has been ruled out until December with a long-term injury.
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Arsenal are crying out for a defensive overhaul and getting a quality defender for free will definitely save them a lot of money in the inflated transfer market. However, whether they can convince Badstuber to come with no Champions League football on the table this season, remains to be seen.
