Report: Schalke and Mainz make late play for Wolfsburg's Joao Victor
Germany's "Bild-Zeitung" reports that both Schalke and Mainz are pursuing late loan bids for VfL Wolfsburg winger Joao Victor.
Twenty-six-year-old Brazilian international Joao Victor may be considered an expendable on VfL Wolfsburg's current roster. The Bundesliga's bottom two teams are presently, according to Bild, attempting to acquire him on a six-month-loan as part of their last-minute push to augment their attacks.
The once-prolific winger, scorer of 53 goals in the Austrian Bundesliga, was one of the players who followed current VfL coach Oliver Glasner to the Bundesrepublik when Glasner moved from LASK Linz prior to the 2019/20 campaign.
Victor's production numbers in the Bundesliga have been nowhere near as high, but he did rack up five goals and six assists in 41 appearances across all competitions last season. He tallied thrice in the Europa League. This year he's managed one assist in 10 appearances.
Schalke coach Christian Groß has been recently quoted as expressing doubt that his club would procure further reinforcements during this window. The Königsblauen nevertheless have an emergency injection of up to €6 million that they may use toward loan fees.
Current Mainzer sporting director Martin Schmidt, who once coached Wolfsburg for a brief stint during the 2017/18 season, is on record as stating that his club may poach more bench-ridden Bundesliga players on loan.