Beppe Marotta confirms Juventus have made an offer for Schalke's Julian Draxler

Did you enjoy your weekend free of Julian Draxler rumors and/or news? I hope you did. It was kind of relaxing if you ask me. That's mainly because it's Monday, and there's more Draxler news to be had. And it's not rumors about how much Schalke want or why Juventus want to try and get him on loan. This is actual news with actual people saying actual things.

Like, say, Juventus director general Beppe Marotta talking about Juventus' transfer market just a few minutes after the 2015-16 Serie A schedule was released. Marotta's quotes are as follows:

"In a very realistic way, there are many proposals in the market. Today we presented an offer based on our evaluations and I think there's still a big gap," Marotta told Sky Sport Italia.

"That was one of the many proposals we have put forward during this market. The player belongs to Schalke 04, so obviously it ultimately depends on them.

"We are in no rush, but the squad at Allegri's disposal is solid and we are trying to add a few cherries to the cake.

"We are working on a trequartista, or at least a midfielder with certain characteristics, and a left-back who can act as an alternative to Patrice Evra while Kwadwo Asamoah recovers from his injury.

"We are looking for eclectic players, who can allow us to set out the team in various different ways. We are looking for a midfielder with certain characteristics."

(Source: Football Italia)

Why does Marotta think there's a big gap between the offer Juventus presented and what Schalke wants for Draxler? Well, that's probably because Schalke has kicked Juve's first offer for Draxler — or at least the first one we know about officially — to the curb. There's still plenty of negotiating to do, ladies and gentlemen.

#Heldt: "This afternoon we received and rejected a bid for Julian #Draxler from @juventusfcen." #s04 pic.twitter.com/HVgrzHQyct

— FC Schalke 04 (@s04_en) July 27, 2015

But if Beppe says the club is in no rush to get a deal done, then I'm not going to panic because one offer was rejected. That's how negotiations work — especially for a player like Draxler who is both in-demand and is going to cost a lot of money no matter what the final figure is. There will be offers and counteroffers. There will be offers rejected, and hopefully, at some point before the transfer window ends, a counteroffer accepted by Schalke. Then we can all focus on the upcoming season and everything will be fine and dandy.

Since we know that Juventus and Draxler agreeing to personal terms are basically out of the way since the beginning of the weekend, the one main objective is for the two clubs to try and find a resolution. Once they do that, Draxler is heading to Turin and having his own introductory press conference and Schalke has some money going into their bank accounts.

Seems relatively simple, right? At least in theory it is.