Leon Goretzka on his chances of being called up to Euro 2024: “I’ll take on whatever role Julian has in mind for me.”
Speaking to kicker ahead of Bayern Munich’s Champions League semi-final tie against Real Madrid, Leon Goretzka has given his thoughts on his chances of a call-up to the Euro 2024 squad.
Goretzka was left out of Germany’s last squad in the March international break, but with the squad size being increased to 26 for the Euros, there is a chance that Goretzka could still be called up. When asked about his chances, the 29-year-old said: “I’m extremely motivated, I want to continue to impress with top performances like I did recently and I’ll take on whatever role Julian (Nagelsmann) has in mind for me. Together we can achieve a lot, I’m sure of that.”
The midfielder was also asked about how the return of Toni Kroos may affect his chances of being called up in the summer: “You don’t need too much knowledge to understand that Toni and I are very different players. I have a very good relationship with Toni and I’m happy that he’s back. Against France and the Netherlands, we’ve seen what an influence he can have on the games. We can all benefit from that, and the whole of Germany can benefit from that.”
Since being omitted from the March international squad, Goretzka’s performances have improved most notably in Bayern’s Champions League quarter-final tie against Arsenal.
However, this has not stopped speculation surrounding his future at Bayern. With a contract expiring in 2026, Goretzka was asked if he would be interested in trying something different: “I’m an open-minded person, but the question doesn’t arise for me at the moment. What appeals to me now is to tackle the issues we have here at FC Bayern and get the ship back on track in the domestic competitions. That we at FC Bayern live the “Mia san mia” more strongly again. I can very well imagine that in two or three years we will look back at this season and say that it was still important because the right lessons were learned from it.”
The future of the 29-year-old will likely depend on who will be the new Bayern manager in the summer, as under Thomas Tuchel, Goretzka has been in and out of the team and has struggled to solidify a place in the squad as Tuchel has at times preferred Aleksander Pavlovic and/or Konrad Laimer.
GGFN | Jack Meenan
