Chelsea transfer news: Branislav Ivanovic wanted by Bayern Munich as Blues defender nears final year on his contract
31-year-old Ivanovic has been offered a one-year extension but could leave the Blues to seek a long-term deal
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Your support makes all the difference.Champions League semi-finalists Bayern Munich are ready to launch a summer bid to try and lure Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic to Germany, it has been reported.
Ivanovic has been a mainstay of the Blues side since arriving in west London in 2008 in a £9.7million move from Lokomotiv Moscow. The Serbian national captain has featured for the Blues at right-back, although he is equally adept at playing in a central role should the first-choice pairing of John Terry and Gary Cahill be unavailable.
But the uncertainty surrounding the 31-year-old’s future has led to interest coming from clubs across Europe, and the Daily Express reports that German champions Bayern are leading the race should Ivanovic deem the time right for a new challenge.
Ivanovic has just one year remaining on his current contract, and although the club have offered a one-year extension given their policy in negotiating with over-30s, he could decide to move on having won everything on offer with the current Premier League leaders.
His crowning moment – trophy-wise – came in Chelsea’s victorious Champions League campaign of 2011-12, although the Serbian suffered the heart-breaking scenario of missing out on the final itself due to suspension after picking up a second yellow card of the knockout stages in the semi-final second leg win over Barcelona.
The following season, he made up for his final absence by heading in the winning goal in the Europa League final to see off Benfica, and he has been described by current manager Jose Mourinho as “a competitive animal [with] a big heart” as well as one of the club’s best ever signings having played with a horrible gash in his foot during the League Cup semi-final win over Liverpool – in which he again headed in the winner despite having a “boot full of blood”.
Paris Saint-Germain are also in the hunt to sign Ivanovic should he become available, and the likelihood is that he will move abroad given his desire not to play against Chelsea having given seven years of loyal service to-date.
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