Raphael Honigstein: Could Drmic be the man to solve Arsenal's problems?

By Raphael Honigstein 

Last updated: 28 March 2014, 10:21 GMT

March has been very good for Josip Drmic.

At the beginning of the month, Switzerland manager Ottmar Hitzfeld called the 21-year-old up for the friendly against Croatia.

The striker’s performance in the 2-2 draw should be enough to get him on the plane to the World Cup.

He scored two goals and instantly became Switzerland’s key player. Drmic also scored nine goals in 10 Bundesliga games to become the league's most prolific attacker since the winter break.

In the wake of the Franconians’ 2-0 win over VfB Stuttgart in the vitally important six-pointer at the bottom of the table on Wednesday night - in which Drmic scored both goals for the home side - it seemed fair to assume that the man of the moment had done enough for his side to avoid relegation (they are 14th in the table on 26 points).

“Drmic won’t play in the second division,” FCN sporting director Martin Bader confidently predicted.

It has emerged that the striker has a release clause in his contract (until 2017) that would allow him to leave for €3.5m if Nüremberg were to go down to the second division though.

And it’s inconceivable that someone wouldn’t snap up the quick, versatile forward - who’s equally effective in the centre and on the flanks - if that were the case.

A total of 15 league goals in his debut season at Nüremberg, a side who don’t create too many chances, speaks of his ability to make things happen in and around the opposition box.

“Drmic finds space because of his pace,” Hitzfeld told Swiss broadsheet NZZ. "It’s very important to have this kind of pace at international level”.

Appenzellerzeitung noted that, following his €2.2 move from FC Zürich last summer, the Freienbach-born son of Croatian immigrants has already done better than Swiss icons Stéphane Chapuisat and Alex Frei had done in their debut seasons in the Bundesliga, at Dortmund.

“I have to say I’m surprised, in a positive way, how quickly I have settled,” Drmic admitted.

“I tried not putting too much pressure on myself. I knew that everything in Germany would be faster, bigger and more intensive. I prepared for that mentally”.

On the pitch, Drmic seems to have that rare talent of being able to anticipate opportunities as well. To say he’s become fundamentally important to Nürnberg’s chances of survival would be an understatement.

All FCN squad members combined have scored just two more goals than Drmic has notched on his own.

“Drmic gives Nüremberg the kiss of life,” wrote Kicker magazine after the Stuttgart win.

Coach Gertjan Verbeek did his best to play down the hype. “He’s showing his class but we’re playing with 11 men on the pitch and have people who provide for him," the Dutchman said.

He's fighting a losing battle though. When you’re this prolific, it’s impossible to stay in the shadows.

If he keeps producing goals at the same rate, Nüremberg might still lose him despite staying up.

Hertha, who need to look for a replacement for the Dortmund-bound Adrian Ramos, are reportedly weighing up a bid.

Bayer Leverkusen are also said to be interested. The Cologne-based tabloid, Express, however, claimed that Bayer’s attempts to secure the services of the forward could well be thwarted by Arsenal.

“The Londoners have made an approach to Nüremberg,” they wrote last week.

So how realistic is that story? Express, it should be noted, were one of the first German papers to accurately report on Lukas Podolski’s move to Arsenal in the summer of 2012.

A raft of English papers had confidently claimed that the Germany forward would move to the Emirates six months earlier, but that was never a realistic prospect.

As a young and relatively cheap option - Drmic would probably be allowed to leave for a fee in the region of €7m if the club stay up - the striker fits the bill as an understudy to Olivier Giroud, and his experience on either flank would be appreciated by the Gunners.

Tying him down now would make imminent sense as well. One or two decent showings at the World Cup for the Nati, as the Swiss call their national team, would make Drmic much more expensive.

“I don’t know what will happen,” Drmic said on Wednesday when reporters asked about his future.

But there’s also the less sensational possibility that someone briefed about the alleged enquiry from Arsene Wenger to push the interested Bundesliga clubs into making an offer.

Drmic is being advised by the same agency who look after Marco Reus (Dortmund) and Bayern Munich’s Toni Kroos and Mario Götze.

It’s fair to say they know how to play this game,  just as well as their clients do.

One thing seems certain though: Drmic’s stock is set to rise even further.

On Saturday evening, he’s in action away to SC Freiburg, who are in 15th place, only separated from Nürnberg by goal-difference.

It’s another six-pointer and a chance for the Swiss striker to end his brilliant month on top of the world  - or “mid-table safety”,  as they call it in Franconia.

Liverpool prepare L8million bid for unsettled Inter Milan ace Mateo Kovacic

Liverpool are ready to make an L8million summer bid for Mateo Kovacic after his agent revealed the player is unhappy at Inter Milan.

Kovacic is currently rated as one of the most promising midfielders in Europe, having established himself as a key player for Inter since his switch from Dinamo Zagreb.

But despite a string of impressive performances, the 19-year-old has been dropped in recent weeks amid claims of a fall out with manager Walter Mazzarri – and a transfer is on the cards.

Kovacic’s agent refused to confirm the talk this week, but he has revealed his client is unhappy, telling reporters: ‘Everybody is confused as to why Mateo is not playing.

‘Is there a row with Mazzarri I can’t say a lot, but he is not happy.’

MORE: Watch this Liverpool target scored the fastest ever La Liga goal

The news has alerted Liverpool, who are long-term admirers of the talented pass-master, with Brendan Rodgers keen to push ahead with a L8million bid.

It’s thought that the Reds plan to make the offer before the World Cup, in a bid to get Kovacic’s future sorted before he turns out for Croatia at the tournament.

Arsenal and Tottenham have previously been linked with the midfielder, who is famed for his superb passing range and excellent engine.

Medutim, odgovarati cu svejedno, jer imam sto za rec na ovom temu. Liverpool takoder zeli Raktica (za Kovacica neznam).   Ali mislim da su oni mislili da bi ga mogli dobiti za manje cijenu nego sto bi moglo biti sada.  Ali on je svakako na njihovom radaru.  I Manchester United bi trebao biti zagrijan za njega.  Koliko njima fali igraca poput Rakitic je bolno za oci.

Sto se tice Kovacic, jedan od najbolji igraca njegovom dobu.  100%.  VELIKI potencijal (a vec sada vrlo dobar igrac).  Proslu sezonu nije igrao blijedno nego je isticao se u tom blijedom momcadi.  Bio je njihov najbolji vezni igrac i svakako je ostavio odlican dojam.