Premier League: Can Mario Gotze Find A New Home in England?

Mario Gotze’s natural talents allow him the versatility to play many positions for many Premier League clubs.

Despite his struggles with fitness, he can play as a forward, striker, attacking midfielder, central midfielder, and as a false 9. At Bayern and Dortmund, he has started in these roles on the pitch successfully.

Mario continues to possess the dribbling, creativity, and playmaking skills that made him a youth phenom. These skill sets make him a good fit for Premier League clubs that need an additional midfielder or forward that can make key passes and knock in the occasional goal.

In his last full season for BVB, the German was 11th in the Bundesliga in shot-creating actions per 90 minutes and 23rd in goal creating actions per 90 minutes.

Gotze had his greatest club success under Jurgen Klopp in his first stint at the Ruhr Valley club, however, Liverpool already has multiple players who meet their needs for an occasional goalscoring playmaker.

The difficulty for middle-tier teams

Middle-tier top-flight teams that have difficulty creating goalscoring opportunities would be the best landing spot for Mario Gotze.

Crystal Palace sits at the bottom of the league in key passes and shot-creating actions per 90 minutes. They also only had one player, Wilfried Zaha, who averaged more than two shot-creating actions per 90 minutes.

Burnley also has a miserable time creating shots. The Clarets are second-worst in the EPL in shot-creating actions and goal creating actions per 90 minutes. Dwight McNeil and Ashley Westwood are the only players in the squad that have more than 20 key passes this season.

Depending on how their proposed sale pans out, Gotze may find a home at Newcastle. Though the playmaker may not be an exact fit for Steve Bruce’s tactics, he can add a level of dynamism and creativity on the counter.

This was a key role for Mario at Dortmund last season, and the Magpies are dead last in goal-creating actions per 90.