Bayern Munich face competition from Arsenal for top midfield target

It has been a chaotic winter transfer window for Bayern Munich despite focusing only on strengthening the defense. The Bavarian club needed a midfielder and versatile defender in the summer since Benjamin Pavard and Ryan Gravenberch left in the final week of the transfer window. Bayern’s failure to get deals over the line on deadline day meant Tuchel had a smaller squad in the first half of the season.

Rekordmeister decided to prioritize defense over midfield in January since Raphael Guerreiro can do a good job in midfield. The emergence of Aleksandar Pavlovic also meant Die Roten can look to strengthen midfield in the summer.

It is no secret that Bayern will be in the market for a holding midfielder in the summer. They had a deal lined up for Joao Palhinha in the summer, but the move collapsed at the last minute. Die Roten decided against going for Palhinha in January as they felt the transfer fee needed to complete the deal would be excessive.

As per reports earlier this season, Bayern have identified Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi as the top target to strengthen the midfielder. The Spanish midfielder has a release clause worth €60 million in his contract. Despite the feasible release clause, it will not be a straightforward deal for Die Roten.

According to SportBild’s Christian Falk, Arsenal and Mikel Arteta are also very interested in Zubimendi. Arteta has already held talks with his compatriot about a possible transfer in the summer. Bayern will have to move swiftly to convince Zubimendi and seal the deal before the start of the summer transfer window.

Zubimendi is one of the highly-rated holding midfielders in La Liga. His qualities in and out of possession make him a very attractive target for Bayern. With the best years of his career ahead of him, it is not surprising to see two big European clubs showing interest in him.

Die Roten moved quickly for Lucas Hernandez a few years ago to beat off the competition. The French defender had agreed a move to Bavaria in 2019 before the end of the season. They may have to do it again this year to get Zubimendi.

Christoph Freund and Bayern will probably work on the deal for Zubimendi once the winter transfer window comes to an end. For the time being, the Austrian sporting director is working on a deal to sign Sacha Boey from Galatasaray to strengthen the right-back position. The record Bundesliga champions have already signed Eric Dier from Tottenham Hotspur to strengthen central defense.