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Arsenal Suffers Draxler Blow, As Schalke Refuses To Sell 20 Year Old

Arsenal have suffered a major blow in their attempts to sign Julian Draxler after Schalke sporting director Horst Heldt insisted the club have no intention of selling the midfielder.

Heldt said he was “convinced” the highly-rated 20-year-old Germany international would be staying at the club – both in January and beyond the summer.

“We are happy to have such a world-class player in our lines. I am very convinced that Draxler will be playing for us in the Rückrunde [second half of the season] but most probably beyond that,” he said at a news conference on Thursday. “We are not interested in letting Julian leave, and he has also not approached us about a transfer.”

It had been widely reported that Draxler has a £37m buyout clause in his contract, and while Arsenal do not value the player at that price, the club remain hopeful that a lower figure can be agreed if not in January then possibly in the summer.

However, Heldt insisted Schalke can set the price at whatever they like.”That agreement was only in place for last year, from now on the transfer fee is up for negotiation,” he added.