Arsenal have registered concrete interest in signing Joshua Kimmich on a free transfer from Bayern Munich.
Earlier this week it was reported that the German club had retracted its contract extension offer to the midfielder, whose deal expires at the end of the season.
Kicker magazine on Thursday corroborated a report from the Bild tabloid which claimed that Bayern decided at its supervisory board meeting on Monday to rescind the offer it made to the player because of his hesitation in accepting it.
The 30-year-old Kimmich, who has played more than 400 games for Bayern since joining as a 20-year-old from Leipzig in 2015, reportedly earns around 20 million euros a year at the Bavarian powerhouse.
The proposed new deal reportedly included a modest pay rise.
Bayern’s board member for sports, Max Eberl, told broadcaster Sky this month that talks between the two parties were positive after the club announced new contract extension deals with Jamal Musiala, Alphonso Davies and Manuel Neuer.
‘We’ve done our work bit by bit. We’ve had very good discussions with Joshua. We’ve clearly shown what our idea is with the extensions (that were announced),’ said Eberl, who hoped that ‘we’ll get it over the finish line.’
Kimmich played every minute for Bayern across three competitions until he was forced off before the break against Eintracht Frankfurt last weekend with a tendon strain.
He will likely miss the team’s visit to Stuttgart on Friday, but the club hopes he’ll be back for Bayer Leverkusen’s visit in the Champions League last 16 on Wednesday.
Kimmich is at liberty to join another club at the end of this season — as long as he does not sign a new deal at Bayern in the meantime.
There has been speculation of a possible reunion with former Bayern coach Hansi Flick at Barcelona, though the financially troubled Spanish club would still need to pay his wages.
According to Sky Germany, Kimmich has received two offers from abroad, one of which is from the Premier League.
Arsenal have emerged as one of the clubs attempting to capitalise on the apparent breakdown between the Germany international and his current employers.
With Jorginho and Thomas Partey set to leave in the summer, Mikel Arteta will need to strengthen in midfield as well as his attack which has been decimated by injuries in recent weeks.
The Gunners are already understood to be close to agreeing a deal to sign Martin Zubamindi but the addition of Kimmich would represent a real statement of intent.
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