Last summer, Arturo Vidal dominated the transfer window talk. Especially so in August, when pretty much everyday we saw a “Vidal is joining/has joined/is undergoing a medical at Manchester United” story line. The Juventus midfielder and Chilean national hero (yes, he is still a national hero in spite of the recent drunk driving automobile crash) was linked to hundreds of stories in dozens of tabloids all summer long.
The English, Italian and Chilean media all covered his potential transfer like a soap opera. But in the end, nothing actually happened.
This summer there’s been a ton of reports linking Vidal with a move to both Arsenal and Real Madrid, but, I’ll believe it when I actually see him holding up a new kit of whatever team signs him. The Los Blancos switch was supposed to be “all but done,” according to a couple switches. Obviously Arturo Vidal is one of the greatest midfielders in the entire world, otherwise we all wouldn’t care so much. If Arsenal has truly been all in, as we’ve led to believe, then it looks like they’re about to miss out.
Bayern Munich have found their replacement for Bastian Schweinsteiger; according to a couple of sources- Sky Sport’s Gianluca Di Marzio and La Gazzetta dello Sport. They are claiming that Arturo Vidal is set to sign with Bayern.
Of course, with Arturo Vidal, (as it is with every world football player, but certainly more so with him) nothing is ever done until you officially hear it from the team or Vidal himself.
Although every team would love to have a player of Vidal’s stature on their side, this isn’t a deal that makes a ton of sense for them. Schweinsteiger left for Manchester United, where he clearly fills a need. Munich has plenty of quality midfielders at the Allianz Arena and Schweinsteiger sort of became the odd man out under Pep Guardiola. Vidal would not just take his place, theoretically, he would thrust himself into the starting XI as one of the team’s most important players.
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and writes The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with Fox Sports Digital. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes to the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. He also appears regularly on numerous sports talk radio stations all across the country.
Follow him on Twitter and Instagram