Vidal wants an extension with Bayern

Chilean midfield Arturo Vidal, who has been rumored to be on his way out of Munich since the club announced the signing of Schalke midfielder Leon Goretzka, does not appear to want to leave the city as was once thought.

In an interview with Sport1, Vidal, who just turned in perhaps his strongest effort of the season against Schalke as he registered 14 tackles, has been linked to Chelsea and Inter Milan among others. In addition to his tackling prowess on Saturday, Vidal also had a passing accuracy of 87%. Regarded as one of the top box-to-box midfielders in the world, Vidal thinks he will still have a role with Bayern next season despite the surplus of talent.

I play in this team for a reason, and I’m certainly one of the world’s best in my position for a reason. I do not think about a change, I feel really good here. Of course I would like to extend. This is an option and my children are very happy here.

This could all be a clever negotiating ploy by Vidal to up his salary if he does gets sold, but it does appear to have at least some credence as Vidal’s importance to Bayern and his comfort in Germany have long been apparent.

Photo by A. Beier/Getty Images for FC Bayern

The primary issue with Vidal return for next year or beyond is not necessarily his age (30) or his ability, but the glut of talent that Bayern will have in its midfield. Goretzka is widely considered one of the top young talents at midfield in the world and the German international will be joining what is assuredly the deepest and most talented crew of midfielders ever assembled on a Bundesliga side.

As it stands today, players competing for time at the 6, 8, and 10 positions would be Goretzka, Vidal, Thomas Muller, James Rodriguez, Thiago Alcantara, Javi Martinez, Sebastian Rudy, and Corentin Tolisso. It is hard to imagine all of the aforementioned players can stay with the club, even if Rudy accepts a move to reserve outside back behind Joshua Kimmich and David Alaba. Perhaps Muller or James could move outside to a wing position, but removing either player from roving, central positions may decrease their respective effectiveness.

Regardless, Vidal appears to want to be in that mix and continue to compete in red. Whoever Bayern hires as it next coach will have his work cut out in figuring out how to keep that group happy, even if one or two players leave the club via transfer or sale.