Stop us if you've heard this one before, but Bayern Munich are set to complete the signing of one of their rivals' star players.
The Bavarians have made a habit of raiding other Bundesliga clubs over the years, whether it was Bayer Leverkusen in 2002 for Michael Ballack and Ze Roberto or more recently Borussia Dortmund, from whom they've lured Robert Lewandowski, Mario Goetze (who has since returned to Dortmund) and Mats Hummels.
Now, it looks as though Schalke's 22 year-old midfielder Leon Goretzka, who has recently been strongly linked with Liverpool and Manchester United, is the latest player to leave a smaller Bundesliga club for the German champions.
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Bayern also famously have previous with Schalke as well, having paid Die Knappen £24 million for Manuel Neuer in 2011.
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Goretzka has emerged as one of German football's brightest prospects over the last couple of years, establishing himself as a first team regular at the Veltins Arena during the last two-and-a-half seasons, where he has scored 14 goals in 87 appearances.
SportBild in Germany are reporting that the 22-year-old will put pen to paper on a contract at the Allianz Arena in January ahead of a summer move to the Bundesliga champions.
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The news of Goretzka's impending free transfer to Bayern will come as a bitter blow to Liverpool fans, who had expected the Germany international to arrive at Anfield in the summer following a series of reports claiming the midfielder was on his way to Merseyside.
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Goretzka has made 12 appearances for the German national team, scoring six times and is likely to be in contention for a place in Joachim Loew's squad when the World Champions head out to Russia next summer to defend the World Cup.
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