Kruse will wear the number ten shirt for Bremen - like he did in his first spell at the club. - © © gettyimages / Ronny Hartmann/Bongarts
Kruse will wear the number ten shirt for Bremen - like he did in his first spell at the club. - © © gettyimages / Ronny Hartmann/Bongarts

Bremen expecting the Max from motivated Kruse

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Max Kruse says he is fit and focused after completing his switch from VfL Wolfsburg back to his former club SV Werder Bremen.

The 28-year-old German international has opted to return to the familiar surroundings of Bremen to kick-start his Bundesliga career, and he is champing at the bit to start delivering the goals in a slightly different shade of green.

"My fitness is at a very high level," he said at a press conference on Wednesday. "Before pre-season I got myself into great shape with the fitness coach. I want to improve myself and achieve a lot with Werder. I know that I can play better than I did last year."

With six goals in 32 Bundesliga appearances for the Wolves, last season was indeed a dip on the 11 he scored in 32 games for Borussia Mönchengladbach in 2014/15 and the 12 he notched the season before.

Bremen are nevertheless convinced that Kruse will rediscover his best form and make it a mutually satisfying move. "We want to take the next step with Max," said Bremen's sporting director Frank Baumann. "With Max, we go positively into the new season and believe we can achieve more. It feels good to have got Max here - It's an important transfer to keep a feeling of optimism in the team."