Bayern Munich has always had a special affinity for Arturo Vidal since his days at Bayer Leverkusen. And with Bastian Schweinsteiger now hanging out with Louis Van Gaal and Matteo Darmian in Manchester, there's a reason for them to spend on a central midfielder who can try replace such a void.
But ... Arturo Vidal? Juventus' Arturo Vidal? Why the heck did they have to target Arturo Vidal?
According to a wide array of reports from Italy's top sports dailies, Bayern and Juventus are close to an agreement to bring the 28-year-old Chilean midfielder back to the Bundesliga. The price for this sudden and out-of-nowhere transaction is somewhere between €35 or €40 million depending on which Italian media outlet or Twitter account you're following at the time.
Earlier on Wednesday, Juventus were reportedly holding out for €45 million, but it looks as though that extra five spot might be arriving in a different kind of way.
The German club is on the verge of completing the deal for Arturo Vidal, after the initial contacts the deal was reached with Juventus receiving about €40 million including the bonuses. The negotiation was led by Michael Reschke, who had previously brought Vidal to Bayern Leverkusen. After four seasons in Serie A, Vidal is on his way back to the Bundesliga.
(Source: Gianluca Di Marzio)
Obviously, around these parts, we are of the "OFFICIALLY OFFICIAL" club and have life-long memberships. But the thing that worries me is not only the volume of the people reporting it, but also the fact that it has seemingly gone from nothing to something in a couple of hours. This isn't like those Vidal to Manchester United or Arsenal rumors that drug on for weeks on end this summer and last.
If Vidal is truly leaving and Juve suddenly have a big chunk of cash coming their way, the easy thing is to think that some of it will potentially go toward Max Allegri's much-desired No. 10. The rumors of Mario Gotze and Isco are already circling around like buzzards, and it's not like they're going to go away if the Vidal-Bayern deal goes go through like everybody in the Italian media is thinking it will right now.
I guess we just wait now. It isn't true until it's on the Juventus website ... right?
(Whatever we need to tell ourselves.)
Maybe that talk of batting for playing time Sami Khedira mentioned earlier in the day just became a bit easier. And it's not like a healthy Sami Khedira is such a bad thing to have in your starting lineup. But the same can be said for Arturo Vidal. Dammit, Bayern Munich.