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Bayern Munich are set to beat Arsenal FC and Real Madrid to the signing of Chilean combative midfielder Arturo Vidal, after Pep Guardiola identified the Copa America winner as the ideal replacement for Bastian Schweinsteiger, according to Sky Italia.
Schweinsteiger signed for Manchester United in a A?14 million deal earlier this week, and although Bayern Munich have a plethora of World Class midfielders in their ranks, manager Pep Guardiola, also wants Vidal to join the club. According to the report by Sky Italia, personal terms have already been agreed between the 28-year-old and the Bundesliga champions.
Pep looking to bolster an already over-crowded midfield?
However, a fee is yet to be agreed on, with Juventus holding out for A?32 million for Vidal and Bayern prepared to cough up to A?21 million for his services. Bayern had previously attempted to sign the midfielder in 2011, while he was still with German side Bayer Leverkusen, however, Vidal chose the Old Lady ahead of the Bavarians.
The future of the 28-year-old combative midfielder has been the center of much speculation, with English side Arsenal FC and Spanish giants Real Madrid also looking to add the Chilean to their ranks, in a bid to add some bite to their relatively fragile midfield.
The report further goes on to suggest that if Vidal is sold to Bayern Munich, Juventus would turn their attention to FC Schalke’s talented German winger Julian Draxler, as they look to bolster their squad in the center of the park, having already lost Andrea Pirlo to New York City FC and the imminent departure of Arturo Vidal. However, the Old Lady could also look to spend the Vidal money in their pursuit of Juan Cuadrado of Chelsea or Alex Sandro of FC Porto.
The same has also been reported by reputed Italian journalist Gianluca di Marzio, who tweeted:
Ne parleremo alle 20.30 su @SkySport 24: @kingarturo23 verso il @FCBayern per 40 milioni. Trattativa in corso con la @juventusfc
a Gianluca Di Marzio (@DiMarzio) July 15, 2015
Will Vidal sign for Bayern Munich?
Arturo Vidal had once rejected Bayern Munich in 2011, neither were Bayern one of the most dominating teams at that time, nor were they managed by the sophisticated Spaniard. How good a pull, Pep is for the Chilean remains to be seen. However, with reports coming from all sections of the media indicating a deal is close to completion, some truth might just be in these reports.
However, at Bayern, Vidal would be competing with some of the best midfielders in the world, in probably their strongest area. While, Vidal’s addition would definitely lift any team, would Vidal be content to share his game-time with others, when prominent first-team roles at equally good clubs under same, if not better terms are offered? It is something definitely going on in the mind of the 28-year-old Chilean, who is not getting any younger, and would like to be an automatic starter as against playing second fiddle to a younger, more creative players, or even sharing his game time with any other player, even if it’s for a club of Bayern Munich’s stature.