Chelsea beaten by bargain-hunters Bayern to Aaron Ramsey’s signature — report

It’s been understood for some time that Aaron Ramsey will be leaving Arsenal for free at the end of the season. Not learning from the Sanchez and Ozil fiascos, where one left for Manchester United for peanuts while the latter strong-armed the Gunners into giving him a massive contract, Arsenal have once again allowed a star player to enter the final year of his contract.

Unlike the other two however, Ramsey is willing to play out his contract and take his chances as a free agent on the open market (ed.note: this, in fact, should allow him to maximize the next contract he gets, since his new club won’t have to pay a transfer fee).

Chelsea were among several teams to be linked with Ramsey in the summer, at least until the Blues signed Mateo Kovacic on loan from Real Madrid. But in this era of supposed austerity™, adding a player of Ramsey’s quality for free next summer would make him the best buy of the window.

Unfortunately, according to reports, German giants Bayern are confident that they’ve beaten Chelsea to the punch after a “recent breakthrough”.

But German champions Bayern Munich believe that they have won the race to sign the Wales international. There has been a recent breakthrough in talks and now Ramsey is expected to sign a long-term contract at the Allianz Arena from the start of next season.

Source: Independent

Bayern may be sitting second currently, but they’ve made a habit of bullying other Bundesliga teams not only on the pitch but in the transfer market as well. The likes of Niklas Süle and Sebastian Rudy arrived for peanuts, while the likes of Robert Lewandowski and Leon Goretzka came for free!

It’s not just in Germany, that Bayern are able to get good deals. Recent signings like James Rodriguez, Corentin Tolisso, and the not so recent signing of Arjen Robben have proven that when it comes to bargain buys, Bayern are the best in the business, certainly among the big teams of Europe. It would not be surprising if they’ve managed to continue that trend with the capture of Ramsey.

For Chelsea, this may be a tough pill to swallow, and not only due to Ramsey’s lack of a transfer fee. The 27-year-old brings obviously quality on the pitch with him, but also homegrown status, which will be important for Chelsea with the expected departures of Victor Moses, Danny Drinkwater, Gary Cahill, and possibly Cesc Fabregas as well. Sure, some of them can be replaced by Academy hopefuls, but that’s a risk Chelsea have shown much reluctance in accepting in modern times.

Of course, the situation could still change but it’s looking likely that Ramsey is going to join the ‘ones that could’ve been’ pile at Chelsea. Shame.