Nathaniel Brown is heading to Bayern Munich after the Bundesliga champions finally completed a deal for the Eintracht Frankfurt defender, but TEAMtalk can reveal Arsenal and Manchester United both explored whether there was a late opportunity to hijack the move.
The Germany international always made Bayern his preferred destination and, despite a frustrating delay in finalising the transfer, the move is now all but complete.
We understand the reigning Bundesliga champions have agreed a deal worth €55million (£47.5m) with Eintracht Frankfurt – matching the fee they have also agreed with PSV Eindhoven for Morocco international Ismael Saibari.
Brown and Saibari were identified by Bayern as priority targets before the World Cup finals and both transfers are now set to be completed once the tournament concludes.
However, Brown’s move was not without uncertainty.
The transfer stalled for more than a week as negotiations dragged on, prompting rival clubs to monitor the situation closely in case the deal collapsed.
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Arsenal, Man Utd miss the boat on Brown deal
Our sources can reveal that both Arsenal and Man Utd made enquiries during that period.
Sources have confirmed the Premier League pair “asked the question” over whether there was any danger of Bayern’s move breaking down, and made it clear to Brown’s representatives that they remained very interested should the opportunity arise.
Neither club progressed beyond exploratory talks, but both were prepared to move if negotiations in Germany had fallen through.
Chelsea were also admirers of the 22-year-old earlier this summer.
As TEAMtalk previously revealed, Brown featured prominently on the Blues’ shortlist for a new left-sided defender alongside Andrea Cambiaso and Alejandro Grimaldo.
However, Chelsea have since moved in a different direction.
The Stamford Bridge club are confident of completing the signing of Atalanta wing-back Marco Palestra, a player viewed internally as one of Europe’s outstanding young defensive talents, and that effectively ended their interest in Brown.
Ultimately, Bayern’s persistence paid off.
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Brown lands dream Bayern move
Fresh talks over the past few days resolved the outstanding issues and Brown will now join Vincent Kompany’s squad after the World Cup.
The defender was always determined to make the move to the Allianz Arena and never wavered from his desire to join the German champions despite the interest from England.
For Arsenal and United, Brown represents another missed opportunity in what has become an increasingly competitive market for elite young defenders.
Both clubs remain active in their search for defensive reinforcements, but Bayern have won this race.
Brown will now link up with fellow incoming signing Saibari as Bayern continue an ambitious rebuild ahead of the new campaign, with the Bundesliga champions securing two of their top targets in deals worth a combined €110million.
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