Julian Draxler says he wasn't ready for a move abroad

This is what we shall call the official closing of the door in its entirety on Julian Draxler not becoming a Juventus player this summer. There's nothing more to be said, nothing more to see and nothing more to worry about when it comes from one of Juve's most drawn out (and unrewarding) transfer sagas in recent memory.

Well, maybe we declare it case closed for good, there's a reason to be said as to why Draxler didn't become a Juventus player and instead signed with Wolfsburg from the player himself. So, Julian, what you gotta say for yourself?

"From the outside, maybe my move isn't understandable," Draxler told German outlet Bild.

"Schalke are a great club in Germany. Many people thought that if I left it would be for a top foreign club, but I decided not to go abroad as I didn't feel ready for that kind of move."

(Source: Football Italia)

As much as I want to totally believe what Draxler has to say in the above quote — and there's probably a decent bit of truth behind it; remember Domenico Berardi's reason for staying at Sassuolo two summer transfer windows ago? — it's hard to take it in full because of the roller coaster ride we just went on over the summer. Maybe that's because player-speak in the current climate should always be taken with at least some grain of salt, or maybe it's just the fact that Draxler's rumored salary boost makes staying home a little easier to deal with.

Eh, we can act like the scorned or rejected person at the school dance who didn't get picked for a slow dance with the popular girl. So much of our summer was consumed with talk of Draxler and the "Would he or won't he sign?" it's hard to deal with the fact that Juventus came up empty. Again, standing by the punch bowl during the last song... (I'm not talking from experience, you're talking from experience.)

Then again, Draxler is a 21-year-old kid who obviously thinks the best chance to become a better player is to play in the Bundesliga rather than Serie A or the Premier League. And obviously Juventus moved on quickly, making a deadline-day deal with Inter for Hernanes, who obviously isn't the potential future star that some think Draxler is.