Chelsea have shown an interest in signing former Arsenal forward Serge Gnabry from Bayern Munich, should he be available on a free transfer.
That’s according to SportBILD, who say the uncertainty around the player’s contract expiring in just over a year is causing some concern in Bavaria.
Gnabry has been a key player for Bayern since 2018, having signed from Werder Bremen in 2017 before spending a year on loan at Hoffenheim, but his contract is set to expire in the summer of 2023.
That means he needs to sign a new deal this year, or Bayern will risk losing him on a free transfer next year, something they are very keen to avoid after the David Alaba’s move to Real Madrid last summer.
They don’t want a repeat of that situation, which hit the club hard both financially and emotionally, and so need work out an agreement with the forward.
SportBILD say efforts are being made to make that happen, but Gnabry wants a pay increase to be on similar terms to Leroy Sane and Kinglsey Coman, which would mean taking his wages to the €15-20m range.
Bayern seemingly aren’t keen on that, and so several clubs are now looking at him as a potential option, with Chelsea being one of them.
The newspaper says they ‘show interest’ in the Germany international, who has 20 goals in 31 caps for his country, and have even ‘knocked on his door’ regarding a possible transfer.
Gnabry could be open to the move too, with it stated that he ‘likes the city of London’, the suggestion being that he would be more than open to the move to Stamford Bridge as a result.
That’s only a possibility at this point, with Chelsea only showing interest and nothing more than that, waiting to see how negotiations go with Bayern Munich.
At this point, there is no ‘poisoned’ atmosphere between them and the player, so there could still be a positive outcome. If not, Thomas Tuchel and co. are waiting in the wings.
