Germany winger Andre Schuerrle said Wednesday he is happy about his return to the Bundesliga at Wolfsburg and not intimidated by the big price tag of his move from Chelsea.
"To be honest, I haven't thought about it much but the sums written t (in the press) are of course a lot. (But) I am here to play football," Schuerrle said at his official presentation.
Schuerrle, 24, joined Wolfsburg on transfer deadline day Monday for an estimated 32 million euros (36.4 million dollars), a club record sum for the ambitious Volkswagen-backed 2009 Bundesliga champions.
Wolfsburg lie second, eight points behind runaway leaders Bayern Munich who they beat 4-1 on Friday. The 42-times capped former Mainz and Leverkusen player Schuerrle could make his Wolfsburg debut on Saturday against Hoffenheim.
"I am delighted to be here. The last days were quite stressful," said Schuerrle. "The team has great players and I am happy to join such a good team."
Schuerrle said he did not regret his 19 months at the Premier League leaders Chelsea although he was rarely fielded by manager Jose Mourinho this season.
"I think I had a good time there. The first season was really good and I was a regular starter before I had an illness setback. But I remain confident and know what I am capable of," he said.
Schuerrle has 42 Germany caps highlighted by last year's World Cup title in Braqzil, where he fed Mario Goetze for the 1-0 winner in the final against Argentina. His 17 goals include the important 1-0 in the last 16 game against Algeria and a brace in the memorable 7-1 semifinal triumph over the hosts1.
The huge transfer fee made big waves in Germany over the past days but sports director Klaus Allofs insisted again Wednesday "that an engagement in these regions makes sense.
"I don't think we are going overboard if we look at the international market," Allofs said.
The 32 million euros are the biggest January transfer window fee paid in the Bundesliga and the third biggest overall in the league, led by the 40 million euros Munich spent on Javi Martinez.
The transfer comes six months after Wolfsburg a then club record spent 22 million euros on Belgian midfielder Kevin de Bruyne who also come from Chelsea.
"We now have such a good squad that any strengthening of the team will be at a very high level," Allofs said.
Wolfsburg seek consistency at the highest level after almost being relegated two years after their surprise 2009 title. They have impressed this season which also sees them in the Europa League knockout stages.
Allofs said after Tuesday's 1-1 in Frankfurt that the club is also ready for a early renewal of De Bruyne's contract which runs until 2019 - to fend off potential interest from other top clubs allegedly including Manchester United and Munich.
Wolfsburg board chairman and Volkswagen board member Francisco Javier Garcia Sanz agreed in Wednesday's Sport Bild.
"Kevin de Bruyne is a good lad who has a very important role with us. The aims are clearly defined: In the loong run we want to make our presence felt in Europe," Sanz said.
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