Borussia Dortmund have confirmed that this would be the last season of Mario Gotze at the club as the German would be leaving at the end of this term. The decision was arrived at mutually by both the parties and as expected, the news has started a bidding war among the possible suitors of the player.
Daily Star now reports that the Premier League clubs, namely Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool, would be engaging themselves in a duel to obtain the signature of the player. All the three clubs would try to outperform each other and bring the German to their side.
Gotze and his history with Klopp
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has previously coached Gotze at Dortmund. The 27-year-old joined the Bundesliga side in 2001 in the youth setup and gradually represented the clubs at various levels. Midway through the 2009-10 season, Klopp promoted him to the first team, noticing his impressive displays. Since then, the forward started regularly featuring for the side and led them to two Bundesliga titles. In his four seasons at Dortmund, he made 83 appearances and scored 22 goals. In 2013 Bayern came knocking, and Gotze decided to join Pep Guardiola’s side.
Klopp at that point of time made a cry of helplessness showing his despair at the move, “I’ve known about it since a day after the Málaga game. Now I can say that time heals everything. It’s going to take a while, this news is not good for us.”
It may seem that the fortunes have somewhat turned with Klopp’s team being the champions of Europe and the impending champions of England, beating Guardiola’s side to the glory. This time Gotze should have no hesitation about joining the Reds, and the manager would get someone whom he had held in very high regards previously.
Do the club need him?
Liverpool have a brilliant front three, and it is fair to say that Gotze would find it extremely difficult to replace any one of them. However, if one among the trio is absent, the gaffer has to depend on the services of Origi or Shaqiri. This is where Gotze could come in handy. The German international is a proven goal-scorer and a match-winner, even winning the FIFA World Cup. His creativity and agility is something that the club could use in times of need, and his ability to hold on to the ball makes him an ideal man for the Anfield side.
However, whether Gotze would want to make a move to the Merseyside just to be in the pecking order behind the regular three is a matter of doubt, and the club should consider that before making a move for the Dortmund man.
