Bendtner almost officially not a footballer

Daniel Storey

Parody player Nicklas Bendtner is close to being released by Wolfsburg after being told he should no longer train with the first team.

The 28-year-old has been training on an individual basis in recent weeks and has not been considered for selection by head coach Dieter Hecking since early February.

He still has over a year left to run on his contract, but talks are under way to terminate that agreement prematurely.

“The current situation is unsatisfactory for everybody and it cannot endure,” Wolfsburg’s director of sport Klaus Allofs said on his club’s website.

“For this reason, we sat down again on Wednesday and, together with his agent, we discussed solutions.”

The outcome of those talks saw Bendtner released from all training activities for the Champions League quarter-finalists, with a final decision over the former Arsenal forward’s future expected to be made “imminently”.

Bendtner has scored two goals in 13 league appearances for the Wolves this season, taking his overall tally to nine in 47 matches.