Bundesliga bound
July 14, 2011
Manchester City defender Jerome Boateng is due to join Bayern Munich for the coming season after the two clubs reached a deal following lengthy negotiations.
"The board of Bayern Munich and the board of Manchester City have agreed today on a transfer of Jerome Boateng," the club said in a statement on their website Thursday.
The 22-year-old German international, who is currently in Los Angeles at a training camp with his Premier League club, is set to undergo a medical test in Munich in the coming days, before signing a contract until 2015. The transfer fee remains unknown.
Urgent backup needed
Christian Nerlinger, Bayern's director of sports, said Boateng, who has already played in the Bundesliga with Hamburg, was one of the players that new coach Jupp Heynckes had on his wish list.
The club will hope that Boateng shores up the team's central defense, one of the reason's for Bayern's poor showing last season in the Bundesliga which saw them finish third in the regular season and thereby miss out on direct Champions League qualification.
Boateng is the fifth new signing for Bayern this summer. Manuel Neuer, Rafinha, Nils Petersen and Takashi Usami are also all due to play in Munich next season.
Author: Andre Leslie (Reuters, dpa, AFP)
Editor: Martin Kuebler