Everton and West Ham backed to sign player Guardiola claimed has ‘massive quality’

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Everton and West Ham United have been touted as destinations for Mario Gotze.

It’s fair to say that Mario Gotze hasn’t really lived up to the early hype he showed at Borussia Dortmund.

Gotze came up through the Dortmund ranks having joined in 2001 at the age of just nine, and he became a teenage star at Signal Iduna Park.

In the end, Gotze scored 31 goals in 116 games for Dortmund, but was then snapped up by Bayern Munich – and that’s where it started to go wrong.

His record actually improved there, with 36 goals in 114 games, but he ended up falling down the pecking order, with his career seemingly peaking with the winning goal in the 2014 World Cup before going downhill.

Gotze returned to Dortmund in 2016, penning a four-year deal with the club, but his second spell hasn’t helped recapture the magic, and he looks set to leave on a free transfer this summer.

Once praised for his ‘massive quality’ by Pep Guardiola, Gotze looks like he’ll be a case of unfulfilled potential, and his next move will be a big one at the age of 27 (28 this summer).

Now, Bayern legend Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has spoken to SportBuzzer, claiming that he doesn’t know if Gotze is ready for the complications of being a free agent.

Rummenigge added that Everton or West Ham are the kind of clubs Gotze could sign for, and has ‘doubts’ that he will be able to shake off the pressure on his shoulders and get back to his best.

“I don’t know if he’s ready for all of this,” said Rummenigge. “Especially since after the expiry of his BVB contract in the summer, only category B clubs are actually considered. I’m thinking of clubs like Everton, West Ham or Italian middle class clubs. In the Bundesliga he could go to Borussia Mönchengladbach or Leverkusen.”

“In one case, he would gamble away all sympathies in Germany: if he went to China, Qatar or Saudi Arabia, it would be clear that it was all about money. I like Mario. So I hope that he shakes off all pressure and finds his way – even if I have some doubts at the moment,” he added.