Former Juventus midfielder Arturo Vidal is set to join Bayern Munich. (Photo : Reuters)
German club Bayern Munich is set to acquire Juventus midfielder Arturo Vidal for a transfer fee worth £28 million (€40 million), according to The Guardian.
The signing of the 28-year-old Chile international is said to be the Bavarians' response to the departure of German midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger, who recently moved to Manchester United.
Vidal, who recently captured the Copa America title for Chile, actually should have gone to Bayern back in 2011 if only Die Roten and his former club Bayer Leverkusen had agreed on a transfer fee. Instead, Juve came in between negotiations and the Santiago native moved to Turin. He played there ever since and became one of its top players.
After four years, the Star of the South finally signs the prized playmaker.
Vidal helped Le Zebre to a runner-up finish in the 2015 UEFA Champions League final versus Barcelona and was a major contributor in Juve winning the Serie A title for four consecutive seasons. He is expected to make the same winning impact for the three straight Bundesliga champions.
ESPN reported that the Italian club initially stipulated the fee at €45 million, but Bayern negotiated for it to be €30 million. Both sides agreed on a €40-million compromise which sealed the deal for Vidal.
Another potential spice to the deal is a possible swap involving midfielder Mario Götze, who had struggled playing for Bayern manager Pep Guardiola last season. The 5-foot-9 playmaker was known for scoring the winner in last year's FIFA World Cup final in Rio.
It was reported that Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri is interested in Götze as well, and so the fee may be lowered to include the 23-year-old German.
