FC Schalke 04 have completed the signing of left-back Dennis Aogo from Bundesliga rivals Hamburger SV on a permanent deal, according to the club’s official website, Schalke04.de.
The Germany international, 27, joined Schalke on a season-long loan deal in the summer and made 16 appearances in all competitions for the Royal Blues before suffering a cruciate ligament tear in November.
However, Aogo managed to do enough in the aforementioned 16 matches to win over both Schalke general manager Horst Heldt and manager Jens Keller.
“We were more than happy with Dennis’s performances before he picked up a serious injury,” said Heldt.
“With his versatility he helped us compensate when we had players missing. But that’s not all, he has also identified with the club and the region from the moment he arrived.”
Aogo, who has won 12 international caps for Germany, tallied four assists in 10 Bundesliga starts for Schalke — priced at 500/1 to win the UEFA Champions League — this season.
In other news, Schalke boss Jens Keller has admitted 20-year-old ace Julian Draxler can leave the club at the end of the season.
Draxler, who has a €45.5million buy-out clause in his current contract at the Veltins-Arena, is reportedly wanted by a host of top European clubs, including the likes of Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United.
Arsenal are the odds-on favourites, at 1/2, to land the highly-rated No. 10, while United are next in line at 6/1. Meanwhile, Bayern, Chelsea and Liverpool are priced at 8/1, 16/1 and 20/1 to sign Draxler in the summer.
“I am delighted that we have him on board for the second half of the season but, because of his clause, he can leave when a club puts the money on the table,” Keller told Bild, as per Sky Sports.
“That’s why I can’t plan with him, because it is just not in my or our hands.
“It’s a god-awful situation when, as the coach, you don’t know whether such an important player will move on, but Julian was injured at that time, so at least any unrest did not necessarily affect the other players.
“He’s young, but has made over 100 competitive appearances for Schalke. Others don’t achieve that in five, six years.
“That’s why he is very experienced already, and has shown his superior qualities often enough, although his youth shows in his consistency.
“It’s clear that all the talk about his €45.5m release clause and the interest from top European clubs leaves its mark on such a young lad.
“The hype around him last summer was huge. He must learn to cope with that, and also that failing to perform at less than 100% is not good enough for him.”
Draxler has totaled four goals and six assists in 22 appearances across all competitions for the Royal Blues this term.
Kuzmanovic would welcome Vidic at Inter Milan
Inter Milan midfielder Zdravko Kuzmanovic has revealed he would be delighted if compatriot Nemanja Vidic joined the club in the summer transfer window.
Vidic, 32, has already confirmed he will leave Manchester United when his contract expires at the end of the season and Inter Milan are believed to be one of the favourites to win the race for the Serbian centre-back.
“If he comes to Inter I will be very happy, he is a great player, a great centre-back but everyone knows it,” Kuzmanovic told Inter.it.
Vidic, fresh off a storming man-of-the-match performance against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, has scored 20 goals in 289 competitive appearances for Manchester United.
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