Barcelona have announced the agreement of a deal between them and Bayern Munich for the transfer of Chilean international Arturo Vidal.
Barcelona have officially announced the news of an agreement with Bayern Munich for the acquisition of Arturo Vidal. The Chilean box-to-box midfielder was heavily linked with a departure from Germany, with Chelsea touted to be one of the suitors. But, the Catalans have swooped in and managed to land the midfield stalwart.
The announcement entails that Arturo Vidal has agreed a three-year contract with Barcelona and that the transfer is complete, subject to medical. As far as the medical is concerned, Spanish publication AS have speculated that Vidal will be made to go through a rigorous test, with the Catalans fearful of the midfielder’s injury history.
Arturo Vidal has been hailed as one of the best midfielders of the modern era and for a good time. The 31-year-old forged his mettle at Juventus, landing four consecutive Serie A titles. Vidal moved to Bayern Munich in the summer of 2015. But, the barrage of trophies continued to arrive.
Vidal was an integral part of the Bayern midfield that won three consecutive Bundesliga titles. The Chilean though, was unable to improve on his Champions League legacy, having reached the finals of the competition with Juventus in the 2014-15 edition. With Niko Kovac assuming the helm at Bayern Munich, Vidal was linked with an exit, with Manchester United and Chelsea interested.
Chelsea have signed Jorginho to push through Sarri-ball at a heightened pace. But, the squad still lacks an able box-to-box partner for N’Golo Kante in the midfield. Sarri prefers the 4-3-3 formation, which would mean the squad still needs a midfielder besides Jorginho and Kante.
The present options have failed to be consistent over the course of the 2017-18 campaign and do not exude much confidence in the role. Vidal would have been a brilliant short-term coup for Chelsea, making their midfield one of the best in the world. But, Barcelona have beaten the Blues to the chase.
Barcelona themselves, have been looking for additions to their midfield. Adrien Rabiot and Frenkie De Jong were two names that were mooted. But, with the Catalans struggling to make any headway in the deals for the two, they were provided a lifeline as Bayern Munich offered the La Liga champions the chance to sign Arturo Vidal.
Welcome to Barcelona ??
Arturo Vidal for Bayern in 2017-18:Games played: 22
Goals: 6
Assists: 2
Average Pass: 53
Passing acc: 88%
Key passes: 26
Tackles: 68
Interceptions: 28
Chances created: 14
Duels won: 132
Yellow cards: 6#KingIsBlaugrana pic.twitter.com/mGQgTaUweg— BarcaTimes Media (@BarcaMediaAcc) August 3, 2018
While a fee has not been mentioned, transfermarkt has speculated for it to be €18 million, which would be a bargain for a player like Vidal.
Despite being 31, Vidal’s acquisition is nothing short of a coup for Barcelona, especially if the price is around the mark that transfermarkt speculate. Chelsea will now have to focus on Matias Vecino and other targets, with not much time left for the English transfer window to close.
