Chelsea are reportedly preparing a £42 million summer bid for Bayern Munich star Arturo Vidal
According to Spanish media outlet Don Balon, Chelsea are keeping an eye on Bayern’s Chilean midfield supremo Arturo Vidal. The London side are reportedly willing to shell out £42 million for the services of the 29-year-old.
After being heavily linked with a move to Manchester United in the summer of 2015, then Juventus midfielder Vidal decided to join Bayern Munich and snubbed all approaches made by the Premier League giants.
Since then, the Chilean has gone on to make a total of 58 appearances for the Bavarian outfit, scoring on seven occasions. He was a regular feature during the days of Pep Guardiola, but has struggled for game time under the tutelage of Carlo Ancelotti.
The former Chelsea and Real Madrid manager has started Vidal in only 8 of Bayern Munich’s 15 games in the Bundesliga this season. On five occasions, the midfielder has come off the bench, and he has definitely fallen down the pecking order at the Allianz Arena.
Thus, a move to Chelsea could be beneficial for the 29-year-old midfielder. The Blues are set to lose Oscar to Shanghai SIPG for a minimum of £52 million, and could use the money to lure Vidal to Stamford Bridge.
At the London outfit, Vidal will have a happy reunion with Antonio Conte. The current Chelsea boss was in charge of Juventus during Vidal’s days in Turin, and was instrumental in shaping the player’s footballing career.
Arturo Vidal has now scored 20 goals in 84 senior caps for Chile.
Solid record for a midfielder. ? pic.twitter.com/FGRDrOrdVN
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) October 12, 2016
The Bayern midfielder is also looking for a new challenge after winning plenty of silverware with the German outfit. Also, the opportunity of a reunion with his former boss may be too good an opportunity to turn down.
Bayern are unlikely to stand in the player’s way, as they have seen the resurgence of Joshua Kimmich this season at the Allianz Arena. New signing and Golden Boy award winner Renato Sanches has also adapted well to life in Germany, and is likely to be a crucial cog in Bayern’s midfield for at least the next few seasons to come.
However, Vidal may not be the ideal fit in Conte’s setup, which might see the Italian refrain from making an offer for the prodigious Chilean midfielder. The Bayern man is nearing his thirties, and is not likely to develop further as a player in the coming years.
Thus, there will not be any potential resale value for a player commanding a transfer fee in the region of £50 million. While he may bring a certain aura with him to Stamford Bridge, he is likely to struggle to nail down his place in Conte’s starting eleven.
The dynamic French midfielder N’Golo Kante was signed in the summer for £30 million and has become one of Chelsea’s midfield lynchpins this season. He has formed an unbreakable duo with Nemanja Matic, which has in turn helped the Blues register eleven wins on the bounce.
Chelsea have been linked with Marco Verratti and James Rodriguez of late, and the chances of Conte signing those two players are significantly higher than the odds of him signing Vidal. For starters, the Italian and Colombian players are still to hit their peak, and are considerably younger than the Bayern Munich midfielder.
Because of his fruitful relationship with Conte at the international stage, Verratti seems to be the ideal Chelsea signing. The Italian is an adept passer of the ball and can slot into the midfield alongside N’Golo Kante.
The duo have an impeccable skill-set and their drive in the middle of the park may be exactly what Chelsea need to secure the Premier League this term.
