Arsenal in 'serious negotiations' to sign Bayern Munich star

Bayern Munich star Joao Palhinha is attracting interest from Arsenal (Picture: Getty)

Arsenal have held ‘serious negotiations’ to sign Bayern Munich midfielder Joao Palhinha this summer, according to reports in Germany.

There has been a flurry of activity at Arsenal in recent days after a somewhat quiet start to the transfer window, with Martin Zubimendi, Kepa Arrizabalaga and Christian Norgaard all signing on the dotted line at the Emirates.

The Gunners are also working on deals for Valencia centre-back Cristhian Mosquera and Sporting striker Viktor Gyokeres, while personal terms have reportedly been agreed with Crystal Palace forward Eberechi Eze.

Though Arsenal have managed to fill the void left by Jorginho and Thomas Partey by capturing both Zubimendi and Norgaard, it’s understood the north Londoners remain open to the prospect of further strengthening the base of their midfield.

A report from German publication Bild suggests Arsenal have expressed a strong interest in Palhinha and there was ‘almost a major transfer’ before Bayern got their Club World Cup campaign up and running.

It’s claimed Palhinha finds himself high up on Arsenal’s shortlist of targets in midfield and ‘concrete figures’ have been discussed with a view to luring the ex-Fulham man back to Premier League football.

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But at this stage, Arsenal are yet to come close to reaching an agreement for Palhinha and the Gunners have been forced to explore other avenues to bolster Mikel Arteta’s options in the middle of the park.

The Gunners have been exploring a possible deal for the ex-Fulham man (Picture: Getty)

Palhinha played just 45 minutes for Bayern at the Club World Cup (Picture: Getty)

Serie A giants Inter Milan are also keeping close tabs on Palhinha’s situation and there have been other offers from England, Italy, Spain, Turkey and Portugal in recent weeks.

While Palhinha’s ‘big dream’ is to stay put and make a success of his time at Bayern Munich, the report states that an ‘absolutely top offer’ from a club of Arsenal’s stature may make the former Fulham man ‘think twice’ about his future.

Palhinha swapped Fulham for Bayern in a high-profile £47.4 million move 12 months ago, but was plagued by injury problems across a frustrating debut season with the Bundesliga champions.

The ex-Fulham man is tied into a contract with Bayern until June 2028 (Picture: Getty)

The Portuguese is currently competing for game-time in Bayern’s midfield with Leon Goretzka, Aleks Pavlovic, Joshua Kimmich, Konrad Laimer and new signing Tom Bischof,

There are still three years remaining on Palhinha’s current contract at the Allianz Arena.

Speaking to Sky Germany after Portugal’s Nations League victory over Germany last month, Palhinha revealed that he planned to discuss his future with those in charge at Bayern.

However, he underlined that he would be willing to fight for his place in Vincent Kompany’s engine room after his tough start to life in the Bundesliga.

‘I still have three years left on my contract here at Bayern,’ he said.

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‘I need to talk to the coach and sporting director about whether I’ll get my chance here. If not, then we’ll see.

‘My dream is to be successful here. It was incredibly tough getting here. Nothing in life is easy. I’m proud to have landed here.

‘There’s no reason to be angry. I’ve won a title with Bayern and hope there is more to come.

‘I will always fight, whatever the future holds.’

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