Wolfsburg complete signing of Andre Schurrle from Chelsea

Bundesliga title chasers Wolfsburg have completed the signing of Germany international Andre Schurrle from Chelsea on a four-and-a-half year deal.

The 24-year-old World Cup winning forward was finally confirmed as a Wolfsburg player following a delay in his move from London.

Schurrle’s switch is believed to have cost his new employers around £50m, including an upfront fee of £24.2m, an additional £25.5m in add-ons and bonuses and the winger’s supposed £4.5m-a year-wages.

A move to Germany was delayed due to intense negotiations over the final transfer fee between clubs, with the former Bayer Leverkuson attacker having already agreed personal terms with Bundesliga’s second placed side days before the confirmation.

An agreement was eventually settled on time before the German transfer market closed at 5pm UK time, with Financial Fair Play regulations involved having also stalled Chelsea’s deals for other players, including Juan Cuadrado from Fiorentina with Mohamed Salah going the other way on loan.

Schurrle, who assisted Mario Gotze’s World Cup winning strike last summer, failed to assert himself under Jose Mourinho and has been increasingly linked with a move back to Germany’s top-flight.

During his first spell in the Bundesliga, Schurrle earned a move to Leverkuson following great showings for his boyhood club Mainz. The German attacker went on to net 18 times in 65 appearances before making the switch to the Blue part of London.

Schurrle will link up with a former Chelsea teammate at the Volkswagen Arena with Chelsea having also sold Belgian Kevin de Bruyne to Wolfsburg for a reported £18m last year, after purchasing the playmaker from Genk for just £7m in 2012.

Wolfsburg manager Dieter Hecking will hope Schurrle’s arrival can boost his side’s chances of closing the gap on German league leaders Bayern Munich, with pep Guardiola’s men currently ahead by eight points.