Julian Draxler has been dubbed one the wonderkids of German football. Since making his debut in 2011, at aged 17, we have seen what a prestigious talent he is, but are we getting ahead of ourselves? Has he at all delivered as much as expected in his 4 seasons in the Bundesliga?
English media started to take a closer eye on Draxler near the end of last season, hearing word that he was potentially involved in a £37million transfer to London based club, Arsenal. A whopping price on a player that is still just 20 years of age. What is so attractive about Draxler from the outset is that fact that he stands at a rather tall height of 187cm and has the ball control and dribbling capablities of a short, pacey winger. The build and stature similar to the likes of Ronaldo and Bale.
Last season was a majorly disappointing for the Gladbeck born attacker, only scoring twice in the league and only assisting in 6 other of his side's goals. In the 2012/13 season Draxler hit the back of the net 10 times and was really looked to have made another step up in his career. Even though Draxler is undoubtably one of Germany's most promising talents, many German pundits were debating whether his inclusion to Germany's World Cup squad was warranted. Three surprise absentees that were left out of Jogi Löw squad were; Max Kruse, Andre Hahn and Kevin Volland. All three players were directly involved with 20 or more goals, whether being directly scored by themselves or being directly assisted, which was far superior to Draxler's tally of 8. Julian Draxler has further admitted that he was disappointed with his displays last season and recently had this to say to BILD. 'I did not play like 20 clubs were ready to pay this sum for me last season. I have to become attractive to big clubs again. This season, 10 goals should be possible for me. If our squad stays together, we can compete for the top three places. We can compete with Dortmund and Bayern.'
Schalke has brought together a young team full of promising players. Players like; Goretzka, Meyer, Kolasinac, Matip and Ayhan all have huge futures for their club, but what Schalke really lack are leaders. Other than Kevin-Prince Boateng, it seems hard to single out a player who can grab a game 'by the scruff of the neck' and lift his team-mates through difficult situations. Draxler could and should be that player. He is now entering his 5th Bundesliga campaign and he should now have the appropriate experience to take this league by storm. Admittedly he started at the tender age of 17, but most players would hope to be hitting their peak 5 years into their professional careers. Some leaders bring teams together by verbally motivating players, others will put their bodies on the line (Schweinsteiger in the World Cup final) and others will inspire their team-mates with moments of individual genius, and that's exacatly what Julian Draxler is capable of doing. Even though his previous season was poor, as previously mentioned, he was still able to amass the 4th highest amount of dribbles completed past oppossition defenders, averaging 4.1 successful dribbles a game. I'm not trying to say he needs to increase this figure to 6 or 7, but he needs to consistantly show his qualities rather than go missing long periods in games. His wicked volley strike against Basel in the UCL was evidence of his technical brilliance, but one that was rarely if ever repeated last season.
It would be unfair to criticise Draxler's performances last season without mentioning he suffered a few setbacks through injury. Early on in the campaign he suffered with achilles tendon problems, then either side of the Christmas break he was ruled out for a total of 70 days with an ankle injury. Both injuries would have played a part with his speed and dynamism, and only time will tell if this was a warranted excuse for his sub-par performances.
The time has come for Draxler to lift, and if Schalke are to challenge FC Bayern and Dortmund, Draxler will have to be at the centre of it. Enough is enough! No more will Schalke fans tolerate the one good through pass he plays a game, or the few classy step-overs that lead to nothing. He needs to create and supply goals. He no longer has the burden of being the 'young kid on the block' with amazing talent. He is well established Bundesliga player and needs to show he is worth somewhere near is £37million pricetag.