Former Arsenal Striker Lucas Podolski Snubs Chinese Offer For J League Club Vissel Kobe
Feb 16, 2017 at 1:29 PM
Former Arsenal striker Lukas Podolski has agreed to join Japanese J. League side Vissel Kobe this summer.
The German striker has been in decent form for Galatasaray but was sparingly used by the Turkish club as he looked to have made his final move of his playing career.
He will earn big once he moves to Japan as Vissel are ready to pay £2million to land him in the summer. The 31-year old has managed mere 9 starts for the Turkish giants so far this season but has been prolific in front of goal as he netted 13 goals across all competitions.
He has also managed to score a five goals in a cup clash against 24 Erzincanspor earlier this season and have played a direct hand in the goal every 95 minutes making him one of the best players available for transfer from Europe to Asia.
Vissel will be looking to move higher in the league as they have not managed to finish above seventh in J. League since moving to the top flight in 1997. The club are not new in making big signings as they have managed to sign Michael Laudrup from Real Madrid in 1996.
The Danish legend however played only one season with the Japanese outfit before calling retirement. Podolski has previously played at Bayern Munich and Arsenal as he has won major honours including FIFA World Cup in 2014.
Despite being in the fag end of his career, he will have plenty to offer to Vissel in the upcoming couple of years as the club looks to improve and become a better team in the league.
Vissel’s Kobe City Misaki Park Stadium has a capacity of 30,132 and have also played host to three World Cup games in the 2002 FIFA world cup which was played in Japan.