Wolfsburg to sign Schuerrle for club record, reports

30 January 2015 15:01

VfL Wolfsburg are poised to sign Chelsea's Germany international Andre Schuerrle for a club record transfer, according to German media reports, after selling Croatia's Ivica Olic to Hamburg on Friday.

It was Schuerrle's cross from which Mario Goetze scored the winning goal for Germany in the World Cup final last July, but the winger has failed to win a regular place under Jose Mourinho.

According to German daily Bild and magazine Kicker, Wolfsburg have agreed terms with Chelsea and the 24-year-old Schuerrle is set to sign a four-year deal.

He will be returning to the Bundesliga after spells at Mainz and Leverkusen.

Schuerrle is reported to cost Wolves more than 30 million euros ($33.9m), a new club record to better the 22 million Wolves paid Chelsea for Belgium midfielder Kevin de Bruyne a year ago.

Wolfsburg paved the way by selling veteran Croatia striker Ivica Olic back to German league strugglers Hamburg in a deal reported to be worth 1.5 million euros with a contract until June 2016.

"I am glad we have found a solution. I think all parties are satisfied. Now I am looking forward playing for Hamburg, this is a new challenge again," Olic told Kicker.

The hard-working forward played for Hamburg from 2007 until 2009, then spent three years at Bayern Munich before joining Wolves in 2012 and has scored a total of 70 goals in 211 Bundesliga matches.

Olic says he only heard about the deal after training with Wolfsburg on Thursday and could start for his new club at home to Cologne on Saturday.

"When I came into the changing room, our manager told me I had the change to go home to Hamburg," he explained to the Hamburg Morgenpost daily newspaper.

"It's a decision for my family, we had decided long ago what we want to live in Hamburg."

Second-placed Wolfsburg host run-away league leaders Bayern Munich in a top-of-the-table clash on Friday as the Bundesliga resumes after the winter break.

Source: AFP