Draxler: " better chance at growing a spine by staying in germany"
If you want to grow a spine, there is nothing better than facing Serie A defenses which will hack you.
The dumbest misconception is that Serie A is soft. Yeah, defenders are more patient and don't go to ground as often, but you will get hacked, with many professional fouls.
Draxler would have been forced to prove his ability, unlike in the Bundesliga, which quite frankly has soft defenses and isn't as competitive as Serie A.