The momentum behind all the talk of Arturo Vidal's reportedly immanent move to Bayern Munich isn't slowing down at all. In fact, Vidal looks even closer to making a return to the Bundesliga as lunchtime hits across Italy and the rest of Europe.
After reportedly agreeing to a four-year contract worth €6.5 million a season with Vidal late Wednesday, Bayern's push for the Chilean midfielder is on the brink of being as much of a done deal as a done deal gets before it's officially announced by both clubs. The fast-paced move is only continuing to gain steam, with multiple Italian media outlets saying the deal is pretty much going to happen in the very near future.
#Vidal from @juventusfc to @FCBayern: deal will be done in the next few hours for €35M plus bonus
— Gianluca Di Marzio (@DiMarzio) July 16, 2015
#Juventus and #BayernMonaco are discussing the details of the bonus payments. In the evening Arturo #Vidal to #Bayern will be defined.
— Romeo Agresti (@romeoagresti) July 16, 2015
Well, I must say, that escalated rather quickly.
We've gone from Juventus demanding €45 million for Vidal to Juventus demanding €40 million for Vidal, and now Vidal essentially moving to Bayern Munich for €35 million with a few extra million euros in bonuses. That's quite an interesting plot twist — almost as much as Vidal being sold in this sudden and quick fashion that is making quite a few people grumpy right now.
Or maybe Beppe Marotta has been in Germany all freaking week while enjoying a couple pints of his favorite Bavarian brew and making this deal happen. You never know. He is a man of mystery from time to time.
But Vidal's move to Bayern Munich looks as though it's simply official announcement away from being done and closed. We obviously don't know what Juventus will do with the money — the Italian press may think they know, but only Marotta and the rest of the management truly have those answers — but this is quite an interesting time in Turin. Not that it was lacking any kind of excitement and intrigue to begin with, too. Juventus has remade its strikerforce, and is about to see one of the best players on its roster during this four-year run of dominance go to the club it beat to Vidal's signature in 2011.
Oh, what a day Thursday looks like it will be. And all of it coming when Mario Mandzukic is going to meet the press and a decent number of players reporting for preseason training.