Barcelona, Man United suffer transfer blow as Bayern Munich 'push to close deal' to sign soon-to-be free agent

Bayern Munich have reportedly emerged as the frontrunners to sign in-demand defender Jonathan Tah this summer.

The 29-year-old has spent the last decade at Bayer Leverkusen where he has made 401 appearances across all competitions and celebrated winning the club's first-ever Bundesliga title last season.

However, Tah has confirmed that he will be leaving the BayArena when his contract expires at the end of June, and a host of top European clubs have subsequently been altered to his situation.

La Liga champions-elect Barcelona have been strongly linked with a move for Tah as the cash-strapped Catalan giants continue to scour the market for low-budget and free agents signings.

Recent reports have since claimed that Hansi Flick's side have cooled their interest in the centre-back as clubs in the Premier League have joined he race for his signature, including Liverpool and Manchester United.

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Bayern leading race to sign Tah as free agent?

It has been claimed that the Red Devils have positioned themselves as contenders to win the race for Tah's signature, with head coach Ruben Amorim keen to bolster his defensive options this summer.

However, according to journalist Fabrizio Romano, Bundesliga champions Bayern are 'pushing to advance and close the deal' for Tah to move to the Allianz Arena as a free agent.

Romano adds that talks between both parties resumed at the end of April and negotiations continue on a proposed three-year contract, with Bayern still waiting for the defender to make a final decision on his future.

Meanwhile, Sky Deutschland reporter Florian Plettenberg claims that Bayern are currently working with Tah's agent Pini Zahavi on the final details of the transfer and they are still 'very optimistic' that the free transfer will go through.

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Tah discusses future ahead of Leverkusen exit

After making his final home appearance for Leverkusen last weekend in a 4-2 loss to Borussia Dortmund, Tah addressed his future, telling Bild: "I'll make a decision on my new club soon. I don't want to set a date. But it won't be in two months."

Although Bayern appear to be leading the race to sign Tah, the defender has expressed his desire to play outside of Germany adding: "When you go to a place where you might not speak the language, it's a particularly challenging experience.

"This also applies to my position, which I naturally want to fulfil within a team. It would demand a lot from me to get involved somewhere. That's why going abroad is so appealing to me."

When specifically asked about speculation linking him with a move to Barcelona and their financial problems, Tah said: "I have no influence over that. I can only make my own decisions, and everything else would have to come from others."

According to Kicker, Barca cannot guarantee that they can register Tah ahead of next season, which has led to his proposed transfer to collapse.

Written by
Oliver Thomas