Sport1: Claudio Pizarro Close to Signing with Augsburg

Fresh off of a third place finish with Peru in the Copa America, Claudio Pizarro is close to signing a contract with European rookies Augsburg, according to Sport1.

Bayern Munich elected not to renew the Peruvian's contract after employing him for three seasons. Rumors surfaced Hannover 96 may have been interested in bringing Pizarro back north, but sporting director Martin Kind told kicker Pizarro "would not fit our future strategies."

Augsburg have a respectable plethora of options at striker, especially with Germany U20 player Matthias Fetch returning from loan. However manager Markus Weinzierl may need more depth with the fitness issues of Shawn Parker, Ji Dong-Won, and Nikola Djurdjić. Having to handle a third competition for the first time in their history, Augsburg could be looking to add any kind of depth they can.

Pizarro voiced his desire to stay in Germany last week, his three sons born in Germany and his family based in Munich. He waited until the last day of his contract with Bayern before looking at options elsewhere, hoping the Rekordmeister would bring him back for another year. Pizarro spent most of the 2014/15 season with fitness issues, but scored a goal in # appearances for Peru in the Copa America.