Draxler regrets collapse of Juventus deal

Julian Draxler has revealed he agreed terms with Juventus ahead of the 2015-16 campaign, but the Serie A champions did not meet Schalke’s valuation and he eventually joined Wolfsburg instead.

Juve had earmarked the Germany international to add more creativity to their midfield, but missed out after they failed to agree a fee.

Draxler, 22, has now admitted he was keen to join Juve, but is adamant he is now happy at Wolfsburg.

“It was an honour for me that Juventus wanted me and tried so hard to sign me. I have always followed them closely,” Draxler told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“I had agreed terms with Juventus, but both clubs could not agree a deal. In the end Wolfsburg wanted me to replace Kevin De Bruyne. But I would have been a Juventus player had negotiations gone quicker.

“I kept a close eye on Juventus this season. It looked like I had avoided a banana skin by October, but in the end it would have been nice to win the Scudetto and Coppa Italia with Juventus. It would have been great to have played for such a strong team and with players like [Paul] Pogba and [Paulo] Dybala.

“I would probably have been heavily criticised at Juventus at the start after their initial struggles, just like Dybala received plenty of criticism. But their quality shone through in the long term. I think they deserved to beat Bayern in the Champions League. I would have loved to win the Scudetto.

“But the atmosphere at Wolfsburg is a bit more relaxed. I think I made the right choice to come here. I get the chance to develop at a calm pace here.”