Hertha Berlin in close contact with Mario Götze regarding a potential transfer

Per a new report from Bild+ (via Tz), there is concrete interest in Mario Götze from Hertha Berlin. The 28-year-old had been called by Hansi Flick just a few weeks ago, which linked him heavily with a move back to Bayern Munich. It was revealed, however, that a transfer back to the club where he spent three seasons was not a serious topic of discussion during their conversation.

Per the new report, there has also already been contact between Götze and Hertha Berlin manager Bruno Labbadia. At this point, Berlin is in the process of trying to package a feasible offer for the 28-year-old that would suit all parties involved. Additionally, it’s reported that Götze would be willing to take a considerable salary cut to be able to join the Blau-Weiß and would be ready to accept earning less than €5 million per year. At Borussia Dortmund, he was earning around €10 million euros per year in a stint where he found consistent minutes hard to come by.

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Hertha Berlin sporting director Arne Friedrich has already been adamant that the club will not reconfigure their wage structure for just one player (referring to Götze), which is part of the reason why he’s ready and willing to take a pay cut.

“When it comes to salaries, we won’t break our wage structure for a single player,” Friedrich explained. “This comes just under a week after he had said “of course, that’s [Götze] a name that we were concerned with. We think about it a lot. There are still a few days until the transfer window closes. Many names will certainly be discussed during that time.”

Friedrich seems to be treading lightly with what he’s said about Götze, but it’s clear that there’s concrete interest from both the player and the club. He would also face less competition at a club like Hertha Berlin as opposed to Bayern or Dortmund, where he was just released from at the end of the season.