Bastien Schweinsteiger was left scratching his head in confusion when Mario Gotze completed a shock move to PSV Eindhoven in October.
The World Cup winner’s former Germany and Bayern Munich teammate couldn’t understand why Gotze would happily join a club in Holland when there were teams in bigger European leagues willing to offer him a fresh start on a higher stage.
West Ham United, according to the Express, were one of them.
But, after falling out of favour at Borussia Dortmund and finding himself paddling around the free-agent pool at just 28, Gotze obviously felt he would benefit from becoming a big fish in a relatively small pond.
The five-time Bundesliga champion is far and away the biggest name in the Eredivisie and, with three goals in six games under his belt already, Gotze is rapidly becoming the inspirational talisman of an exciting PSV side clicking into gear under former Leverkusen coach Roger Schmidt.
In fact, Gotze has been so impressive in his new Eindhoven home a first international call up since 2017 feels like a genuine possibility.
“I’m really happy about Mario Gotze’s development,” Joachim Low tells BILD of the man who fired Germany to World Cup glory six years ago.
“After that (goal against Argentina), expectations sky-rocketed. I was always in contact with him. When he told me he was taking the step out of the Bundesliga, I totally supported it.
“For him, it’s like a new beginning. And what you saw in the first two or three games was gratifying. He was more playful, more agile, more dangerous and convinced everyone there in the first four or five games.
“I’m happy.”
West Ham, of course, would have offered Gotze the chance to prove himself in arguably the most high-profile league in Europe.
But, as Low says, this is a player who has spent almost his entire footballing life under relentless scrutiny.
A move to PSV has given Gotze a new lease of life, the ability to express himself and rediscover lost confidence against admittedly weaker opposition in a league famed for its free-flowing attacking football.
Gotze might not be in Low’s squad for the November international break. But don’t be surprised if he returns to the fold in 2021, form and fitness permitting.
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