Chile midfielder Arturo Vidal is poised to complete his switch from Juventus to Bayern Munich in the coming days after flying to Bavaria for a medical.
The 28-year-old posted a picture of himself and agent Fernando Felicevich on Twitter sat on a plane with the caption: “A new stage….a new dream… Munich here we come.”
Una nueva etapa…un nuevo sueño…allá vamos Munich!!! pic.twitter.com/isU2anR4q8
— Arturo Vidal (@kingarturo23) July 26, 2015
The Chilean international is now expected to pass a medical to complete the deal, which Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge confirmed was imminent last Thursday having agreed a transfer fee with the Serie A champions.
A key component in the Juventus team that reached last month’s Champions League final, Vidal is expected to slot into Bayern’s midfield as a replacement for Germany captain Bastian Schweinsteiger, who has joined Manchester United.
Vidal is set for his second stint in the Bundesliga having spent four seasons at Bayer Leverkusen from 2007-2011.
He converted a spot-kick in Chile’s 4-1 penalty shoot-out win over Argentina earlier this month that saw them win the Copa America and was named in the team of the tournament.
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German champions Bayern have just completed a tour of China and will start the new Bundesliga season at home to Hamburg on Friday, August 14.
They will be bidding to make history by becoming the first team to win four consecutive Bundesliga titles. But Juve will see another key player from last year’s Serie A and Coppa Italia successes depart following the exits of Carlos Tevez and Andrea Pirlo ealier this summer.
However, defender Giorgio Chiellini is confident the Bianconeri can cope with departures and have held onto their best players.
“There will be a few more new arrivals. Either way, the strongest players remain at Juventus. With all due respect toward the others,” Chiellini told Corriere dello Sport.
“The players who left gave Juventus a lot, but their replacements will do well. (Mario) Mandzukic and (Sami) Khedira are born leaders and have already shown this week that they will become important. “The younger players will also help the older ones. Their presence will increase the intensity and the level of the team.
The core of this Juventus is still there. And players like Khedira and Mandzukic can perform right away. “This will not be a start from zero for Juventus. The structure is still there. Plus we have great youngsters like (Paulo) Dybala.”
Meanwhile, Munich intend to open talks with their coach Pep Guardiola over extending his contract beyond next summer at some stage this year, according to Rummenigge.
Guardiola’s current deal expires at the end of the coming season and rumours have surfaced recently he has agreed to take over at Manchester City next season. But Rummenigge says everything is still going according to plan.
“Pep and I will hold talks over his future this year,” he told Kicker magazine.
“That is our agreement.” At the same time, Rummenigge rejected claims that Guardiola was not entirely satisfied with the transfers the record German champions have made. “It’s the club who decides about all transfers, but we do have to discuss them with the coach,” Rummenigge said. “With Jupp Heynckes, this could go on for hours.
“The question I tend to ask is ‘where do you see this player playing?’. Only once did Pep say ‘I want this player’ and that was with Thiago (Alcantara).
“Guardiola is not as demanding as he is often made out to be.”
