Mario Gomez has officially joined Wolfsburg for €7m after Juventus confirmed the Simone Zaza move is off.
Wolfsburg announced the move this evening and he will wear shirt number 33.
"We have dealt with a commitment from Mario Gomez in the winter,” Wolfsburg director Klaus Allofs told the club website.
Mario Gomez has officially joined Wolfsburg for €7m after Juventus confirmed the Simone Zaza move is off.
Wolfsburg announced the move this evening and he will wear shirt number 33.
"We have dealt with a commitment from Mario Gomez in the winter,” Wolfsburg director Klaus Allofs told the club website.
“The more we are pleased that we finally made it. Mario is a striker of international calibre, who will bring in addition to its playful quality and a vast experience in our team. It fits with our ambitions perfectly.”
Coach Dieter Hecking also welcomed the veteran hitman to Wolfsburg.
“Mario is the best German striker for me. His successes and his strike rate speak for themselves. He also holds leader qualities and has clear ideas that are congruent with ours. He fits our team and the club.”
The German club was determined to bring in a centre-forward from Serie A and Zaza had been their first choice.
However, Juve director Beppe Marotta confirmed this afternoon that the €25m deal was off.
“He [Zaza] was involved in a negotiation, in the end both sides made their assessments and it didn’t result in the definition of this sale,” Marotta told Sky Sport Italia.
“He remains in our squad, we evaluated our opportunities with him as we’ll do in the coming days if other offers are presented.”
Wolfsburg have already secured an alternative, as they pay €7m to Fiorentina for Gomez.
The 31-year-old striker is ready to sign a new contract to June 2019 for a return to the Bundesliga and could be presented as early as tomorrow.
Gomez never quite settled in Florence and his time there was dominated by injury problems and poor form.
He rediscovered his scoring touch on loan at Besiktas, earning a spot at Euro 2016, but wouldn’t return to Turkey due to the unstable political situation.
Gomez had also been linked with West Ham United.