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Julian Draxler completes move to Wolfsburg from Schalke

Wolfsburg have completed the signing of Schalke midfielder Julian Draxler.

Draxler, 21, joins the DFB Pokal holders for a fee believed to be around €36 million, plus add-ons.

The Germany international, who can play on the wing and in a more central role, had been linked with a transfer to Juventus throughout the summer, but has opted to remain in the Bundesliga instead.

Wolfsburg opened talks with Draxler following the 3-0 defeat of Schalke on Friday, when it had become evident that both Ivan Perisic and Kevin De Bruyne were to leave the club during the final days of the transfer window. Perisic went on to sign for Inter MIlan, while De Bruyne joined Manchester City.

Kicker has reported that Draxler, who had three years left on his contract at Schalke, and Wolfsburg agreed personal terms on Saturday.

Schalke general manager Horst Heldt Heldt said on the club's official website: "There are two reasons for our decision to accept Wolfsburg's offer: We will not be disclosing information about the transfer fee, but we can say that it is the biggest transfer we've received for a player at Schalke.

"Moreover, we have complied with Julian's desire to move to another club."

Heldt added: "At the end of last season, Julian came to me and expressly said that he wanted to leave the club. I told him that we would consider any offers that came in for him, but I also tried to convince him until the end to stay in light of the new sporting direction that we're now taking.

"Julian acknowledges the positive developments that we've seen in recent months, but this did not change his stance. Instead he repeated his desire to leave."

Earlier this summer, Schalke rejected a first offer from Juve, who hoped to sign the player for €15 million plus add-ons. Despite reports from Italy stating otherwise, the Bundesliga club maintained that Juve did not make a second bid for the midfielder.