Less than two years ago Mario Gotze scored the winning goal for Germany in the World Cup final, an 113th-minute effort in the 1-0 victory over Argentina. Fast forward twenty months and the 23-year-old’s future at Bayern Munich is up in the air with reports linking him with a move to the Premier League.

Gotze’s move to Munich was controversial at best. The midfielder became the most expensive German player at the time when he made use of his release clause, reported to be £31.5 million (per BBC), to join Bayern from Borussia Dortmund in 2013. The two sides would meet in that season’s Champions League final in London and Gotze did not play due to an apparent injury. In reality, it is unlikely he would have been selected anyway, given his imminent move across the country.

Gotze, the boyhood Dortmund fan turned icon, left for the Bavarian giants and became hated at Westfalenstadion. One of the brightest young talents in world football has largely stagnated since, if we are being generous. To be very honest, the Mario Gotze we have seen over much of the last three years is not the same player who burst on the scene under Jurgen Klopp and won consecutive league titles with Dortmund.

The talent of Gotze is unquestionable. However, so far this season his progress has been stopped by a serious groin injury, but the last two campaigns have not exactly shown his talent, as well as his time at Dortmund, did.

He made a total of 27 appearances for the Bundesliga champions in the league and scored 10 goals in his first season (2013/14) at the club similar to what he did during his last season at BVB, but that’s the least you would expect of a player who had just turned 21 and was playing in a much stronger side than before. Considering his age, his increasing experience and the quality of his teammates, the 2014/15 season was a poor one for Gotze.

Something seems amiss for him at the Allianz Arena. For all of his ability the midfielder has struggled to make any significant impact or offer any influence on the pitch and fans of the German giants just don’t accept their #19, in the same way, they admire Thomas Muller, Robert Lewandowski, Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery. Maybe he just doesn’t fit into Pep Guardiola’s system, or perhaps he’s been overawed by not being as much of a star name as he would have liked especially after scoring that winner for Germany. Either way, he has gone backwards.

There is little doubt that Gotze, who will be 24 (in June) by the time next season begins, need a new start. With his contract expiring in the summer of 2018, there’s an important decision to make for the midfielder and his current employers Bayern Munich. Sell or extend? At the same time, it doesn’t help that he has played just 54 minutes since October; anyone would be reluctant to award a player a new contract before he has proven his recovery from a major injury. The other big issue is the new manager.

With Carlo Ancelotti set to take the reins – will the Italian have a place in the side for the German playmaker?

There is a lot of competition for places, with the likes Muller and Lewandowski undroppable. Ribery and Robben were once the same, but both aged 32 and frequently missing due to injury, they are in the twilight of their careers. Step forward Kingsley Coman (on loan from Juventus) and Douglas Costa, who have been impressive this season. Even so, those two are not regular goalscorers, something Gotze has proven he can be.

One of Ancelotti’s biggest strengths, however, is he known to be an adaptable players’ coach. He looks at the strengths of his squad and adapts his tactics to them and to the situations he faces in the competition. Think back to AC Milan and his diamond formation, followed by a Champions League winning 4-3-2-1 which allowed Kaka to flourish. At Chelsea, he used various systems (diamond, Christmas tree, 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1) to get the best out of his star players and won the League-FA Cup double. At Real Madrid, another Champions League arrived when Angel Di Maria was asked to play a centre-midfield/left-wing hybrid role in a 4-3-3.

Ancelotti may not copy Jupp Heynckes’ playbook, but he could rebalance Bayern’s game with more direct play and counterattacks. Such tactics would serve Gotze well. When he played for Dortmund, their gegenpressing and superior ball recovery allowed him to work with space ahead when attacking. In Munich, Guardiola’s total possession game undermines his ability. Other teams sit back, sometimes putting 11 players behind the ball. This takes spontaneity away from his game. If Ancelotti shares the rebalancing vision then there is no doubt the Italian tactician will find a place for Gotze, but he needs the chance to prove to the new head coach that he’s worth keeping.

If reports in the SportBild are to believed then a return to Dortmund is an option for Gotze. He had the best time of his career at BVB and it could be an easy choice for him to go back to the side where he became a superstar and one of the most coveted names in Europe. However, when he moved to Munich he burned bridges with Dortmund faithful and he might not receive the fairytale welcome that he would expect. People in football often say that you should never go back, and although he arguably enjoyed his best time at the club, a move back to his old stomping ground won’t be the right one this early in his career.

The other and most probably the best option for Gotze would be to join his former boss Klopp in the Premier League. There’s little doubt he would fit in at Liverpool and the German midfielder would be one of the first names on the teamsheet no questions asked. However, he would have to sacrifice Champions League football, but maybe he would trust Klopp enough to restore the Merseyside giants to former glories.

How will he fit in?

At Dortmund, Klopp used Gotze primarily as an inside forward on the left wing, cutting inside onto his favoured right foot to wreak havoc on opposition defences. It was a tactic that worked very well. During his time at the Westfalenstadion, Gotze created a total of 180 chances (25 assists) for his teammates and contributed a further 22 goals in the Bundesliga. His ability to play on the wings is shown by the fact he completed 194 dribbles in the four years, a tally higher than any other Dortmund player during that time.

However, if Gotze were deployed from the left flank, where would that leave Philippe Coutinho? Liverpool’s #10 has performed best when operating in a free role on the left side, either as a winger or a left-sided central midfielder (2013-14 season). Should Gotze arrive, the Brazilian may be pushed inside in a No.10 role and the two would be expected to rotate between themselves – a very exciting prospect indeed.

If Liverpool do complete this deal in the summer, it would be a huge coup for the club, no doubt. But then there’s how Gotze would feel. No Champions League football next season and there’s no guarantee it will be there the season after. Will a player turning 24 and entering his peak years be happy to go there? To play for Klopp again, and to sign for Liverpool or even return to Dortmund, Gotze would have to accept he has not progressed and his move to Bayern Munich hasn’t worked out as he would have thought.

After all this, the only thing that is certain is that Mario Gotze, who once was dubbed as the biggest talent of German football, needs a fresh start. His time at Bayern Munich under Pep Guardiola hasn’t been a success, and it leaves him with three options – return to Dortmund and risk facing the wrath of the supports or move to England and start again with Klopp or restart his Bayern career under Ancelotti. What will he do?

This article is written by Shantanu Ambekar, you can follow him on Twitter at @ShantanuAmbekar. What are your thoughts? Let us know by dropping a comment via our comments box below. Make sure you follow us onTwitter, Google+ and like us on Facebook.

The post Mario Gotze – What Next For Germany’s World Cup Hero? appeared first on IntoTheTopCorner.