Bayern Munich had an agreement with Werder Bremen to sign Serge Gnarby after one season

Bayern Munich had been monitoring Serge Gnabry since 2016 before making a permanent move for him a year later from Werder Bremen.

SportBild report that Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge had watched the forward for Germany vs Fiji at the Olympics and ordered Michael Reschke that the German must be signed.

The Bundesliga club had an agreement with Werder Bremen that they would be Gnabry from Arsenal while Bayern would then sign him a year later for €8m, as Bremen would command a lower fee than Arsenal would.

“The decision to join Bremen was the right one for me at the time. I knew that Bayern were also interested. But the step to Munich would have been too big. My goal has always been to make it there,” said Gnabry.

After joining Bayern Munich in 2017, he would then spend the season on loan at Julian Nagelsmann’s Hoffenheim.

“After my meeting with Julian Nagelsmann, I wanted Hoffenheim as the next stop in my career. There were other offers, but I could develop to the best there,” Gnabry told SportBild.

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