German 30-man provisional squad named
Another International tournament is just around the corner, and another installment of the German national team is about to take shape, one with great expectations. Germany coach Joachim Low has officially name his preliminary World Cup roster, and quite frankly, it’s a scary one. The usual names are there that you would expect, and that included Premier League players Per Mertesacker, Lukas Podolski and Mesut Ozil (all Arsenal), and Andre Schurrle (Chelsea).
Notable omissions from the squad are Max Kruse and most shockingly, Fiorentina’s Mario Gomez and Barcelona bound Marc-Andre ter Stegen, who has been overlooked at the preference of Kevin Volland Ron-Robert Zieler respectively. Interesting timing for said omission, as ter Stegen is by some measure one of the hottest young goalkeeping commodities in the world. However, Germany usually prefers to select their keepers from the Bundesliga, so the move to Barcelona could oddly enough harm the youngster in the long run rather than aid him.
Germany 30-man squad in full:
Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Roman Weidenfeller (Borussia Dortmund), Ron-Robert Zieler (Hannover 96)
Defenders: Jerome Boateng (Bayern Munich), Erik Durm (Borussia Dortmund), Kevin Grosskreutz (Borussia Dortmund), Benedikt Höwedes (Schalke 04), Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund), Marcell Jansen (Hamburger SV), Philipp Lahm (Bayern München), Per Mertesacker (FC Arsenal), Shkodran Mustafi (Sampdoria Genua), Marcel Schmelzer (Borussia Dortmund), Matthias Ginter (SC Freiburg)
Midfielders: Lars Bender (Bayer Leverkusen), Julian Draxler (Schalke 04), Leon Goretzka (Schalke 04), Mario Götze (Bayern Munich), André Hahn (FC Augsburg), Sami Khedira (Real Madrid), Toni Kroos (Bayern Munich), Max Meyer (Schalke 04), Thomas Müller (Bayern Munich), Mesut Özil (Arsenal), Lukas Podolski (Arsenal), Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund), André Schürrle (Chelsea), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich)
Strikers: Miroslav Klose (Lazio), Kevin Volland (1899 Hoffenheim)
Rumors of Marco Reus and Thomas Muller to Manchester United pick up steam
With Louis van Gaal all but confirmed as the new boss at Manchester United, the inevitable rebuilding program in regards to playing personnel will begin in earnest in the very near future. Having long been linked with an interest in Marco Reus, rumors that the Germany man is considering leaving Borussia Dortmund have taken off, as he refused to commit his future to the Ruhr club during a recent awards ceremony. Citing that you only have one career and you want to win as much as you can, it can be taken that Reus is unhappy with Dortmund’s lack of silverware since he joined the club. As gifted as he is, Reus certainly would fit the bill for a talismanic wide player they have been craving for since Ronaldo left for Real Madrid.
If that bit of intrigue was not sufficient, the agent of Thomas Muller, another one of Germany’s bright attacking players, refused to comment on speculation that there is interest from United and that Muller is considering his options. With the impending arrival of Robert Lewandowski in the summer, his increasing role as a substitute despite his fine goal scoring record and the increased speculation of potential moves of fellow Germany team mates Toni Kroos and Mario Gotze from the club, Muller may yet be unhappy in Bavaria. Questions could also be asked if he is happy with the style that current manager Pep Guardiola is trying to install in Munich, with his preferred Tiki-Taka being favored over the more direct style that saw Bayern steamroll all before them under Juup Heynckes.
It is no question that United must rebuild their entire squad over the summer. While Louis van Gaal does like to promote from the youth ranks like all Dutch managers, United are sure to spend in the summer. The reports on Muller may hold little to no weight at all, but the interest in Reus is real and has been for some time now. Despite not being in Champions League next season, the allure of playing for United as well as under LvG may be more than enough to convince the Dortmund born Rues to leave Germany.