Diego Wants Wolfsburg Move, Juventus Refuse To Budge
Juventus’ samba star Diego, who was prolific during his time in the Bundesliga with Werder Bremen, is reportedly on the verge of a move back to the Bundesliga with Steve McClaren’s new look Wolfsburg side. Unfortunately for Diego, his current side refuse to let a player of his calibre go without a fight.
Diego’s promising career started at Santos in Brazil with Manchester City’s Robinho, Chelsea’s Alex, and Fenerbahce’s Elano. At Santos, the group of them became some of the most sought after and promising players in the game. Diego left to Portuguese side Porto in 2004, aged 19, but failed to establish himself in the first eleven after two seasons at the club. After offers from some of Europe’s giants, Diego opted for a move to Werder Bremen for a fee of 6 million Euros.
At Werder Bremen, Diego dazzled opposition defenders and immediately endeared himself to Werder supporters with fantastic displays with attacking flair. He picked up the Bundesliga player of the Year award from Kicker magazine at the end of the 2006-2007 season and established himself as one of the most exciting attacking midfielders in the game. In Diego’s last season at the club, he showed the Bundesliga how prolific he can be in front of goal, netting a total of twenty goals in all competitions. After his success and stellar performances at Bremen, Juventus tabled a 24.5 million Euro offer for the Brazilian trequartista and he signed a five-year contract with the Bianconeri. Mesut Ozil stepped into Diego’s shoes and immediately filled the role.
Now, though, after failing to settle into Italian football with a struggling Juventus side, Diego looks to be on the move back to the Bundesliga, but this time with Wolfsburg. Steve McClaren is looking to add to his options in attack this season, and a front three of Dzeko and Grafite, with the creativity and flair of Diego sitting behind them, would be a combination that could easily help McClaren’s side challenge for top honours once again.
Unfortunately, Juventus have refused to budge thus far Diego’s potential move. While reports suggest Diego has agreed personal terms that would include a salary amounting to 24 million Euros over four seasons, an agreeable transfer fee between the two clubs has not been found. Wolfsburg have not been able to meet Juventus’ 19 million Euro valuation of the player, and may have to sell Zvejzdan Misimovic to raise money for Diego.
Should Wolfsburg land the Juventus man, they’d be one of the favourites to challenge Schalke and Bayern Munich for the third Champions League spot this season. Diego’s addition would be a fantastic signing to an already improved Wolfsburg side.
