Bayern Munich have completed the signing of Matthijs de Ligt from Juventus in a deal worth a reported €80million.

The Netherlands international has agreed a five-year contract with the Bundesliga champions, ending his three-year stint in Turin.

De Ligt becomes Julian Nagelsmann's fourth signing of this window after Sadio Mane and former Ajax duo Noussair Mazraoui and Ryan Gravenberch.

The defender had two years remaining on his contract at Juventus - for whom he played more minutes than any of his outfield team-mates in Serie A last season (2,675).

Bayern have reportedly agreed to pay the Bianconeri an initial €70m, with a further €10m in add-ons.

Speaking to the club's website after his signing was confirmed, De Ligt said: "I'm very happy to become a player for this great club. FC Bayern are the most successful club in Germany, one of the most successful clubs in Europe and in the world.

"I felt the genuine appreciation from the sporting management, the coach and the board right from the start, which convinced me. On top of that, FC Bayern is a brilliantly run club with big aims. I'm very glad that I'm now becoming part of the FC Bayern story."

Bayern president, Herbert Hainer, added: "Matthijs de Ligt was a top target for us. With signings like this, the big aims that we have are achievable.

"The future face of our team is increasingly taking shape, and this transfer is an important building block in the overall concept that we're gradually putting into place. De Ligt should become a mainstay at FC Bayern."

Bayern Munich have completed the signing of Matthijs de Ligt from Juventus in a deal worth a reported €80million.

The Netherlands international has agreed a five-year contract with the Bundesliga champions, ending his three-year stint in Turin.

De Ligt becomes Julian Nagelsmann's fourth signing of this window after Sadio Mane and former Ajax duo Noussair Mazraoui and Ryan Gravenberch.

The defender had two years remaining on his contract at Juventus - for whom he played more minutes than any of his outfield team-mates in Serie A last season (2,675).

Bayern have reportedly agreed to pay the Bianconeri an initial €70m, with a further €10m in add-ons.

Speaking to the club's website after his signing was confirmed, De Ligt said: "I'm very happy to become a player for this great club. FC Bayern are the most successful club in Germany, one of the most successful clubs in Europe and in the world.

"I felt the genuine appreciation from the sporting management, the coach and the board right from the start, which convinced me. On top of that, FC Bayern is a brilliantly run club with big aims. I'm very glad that I'm now becoming part of the FC Bayern story."

Bayern president, Herbert Hainer, added: "Matthijs de Ligt was a top target for us. With signings like this, the big aims that we have are achievable.

"The future face of our team is increasingly taking shape, and this transfer is an important building block in the overall concept that we're gradually putting into place. De Ligt should become a mainstay at FC Bayern."

Cristiano Ronaldo is still a top player, but Bayern Munich should not bring him to the Allianz Arena.

That is according to former Bayern player Thorsten Fink, who wants the Bundesliga champions to be a "great team" rather than a "team of greats".

Ronaldo has been linked with a move away from Manchester United after reportedly telling the Red Devils he wants to leave in search of Champions League football.

However, Bayern CEO Oliver Kahn appeared to dampen suggestions the club would look to bring in the 37-year-old, who scored 24 goals in 38 games in all competitions for United last season, saying recently a move for the Portugal star "does not necessarily fit with our ideas".

Fink concurred with Kahn's assertion, telling Stats Perform: "Cristiano was and still is a top player, [but] you have to look at how he fits your system and how he blends into the structure of the team.

"Does a player with his magnitude fit this club and this team? Would others suffer from that? This is what you have to think about. I am sure they talked about this at FC Bayern.

"It is about the system you play, the charisma and magnitude that Cristiano Ronaldo has.

"You either are a 'team of greats' or you are a 'great team', and I think for FC Bayern it is important to be a great team and not have great individual players who, in the end, don't have that character to win things."

Fink played for Bayern between 1997 and 2003, winning four Bundesliga titles, three DFB-Pokals and the Champions League in 2000-01, and he has been impressed by the business his former club has done in the transfer window.

Although Bayern sold Robert Lewandowski to Barcelona, they added Sadio Mane from Liverpool, as well as duo Ryan Gravenberch and Noussair Mazraoui from Ajax, while another former Ajax man Matthijs de Ligt is close to finalising a big money move from Juventus.

"I'm always surprised at what FC Bayern manages to achieve again and again," Fink said. 

"One year you think 'now everyone's saying Bayern will not win a title' or something. I've heard it from people again. But when you see who they've brought in, I have to say 'chapeau' to them for bringing players of such class over from England. 

"That actually shows how interesting our league is. And you have to say hats off to FC Bayern. Only Bayern can bring players like that to our country who enhance our league. And that's why I'm really happy that Mane has come and that De Ligt has also come.

"I can't wait to see what FC Bayern can achieve."

Oliver Kahn has revealed Matthijs de Ligt was quickly won over by the prospect of joining Bayern Munich from Juventus.

The defender has agreed to switch from Serie A to the Bundesliga and confirmation of his move on a five-year contract was widely expected to come on Tuesday.

Dutch centre-back De Ligt spent three seasons with Juventus, winning the Scudetto in the first of those campaigns before the Turin giants slipped to consecutive fourth-placed finishes.

He leaves to join a Bayern side who have won 10 consecutive domestic league titles, with Kahn confident the new acquisition will fortify coach Julian Nagelsmann's defence.

Former goalkeeper Kahn, who is now Bayern's CEO, said: "If you look at the last two or three years, we've been very successful, but we've conceded one or two too many goals."

The outlay on De Ligt, reported to be €70million plus €10m in potential add-ons, is targeted at ensuring Bayern are more secure at the back.

"De Ligt is big, strong in tackles, strong in the air, he has a good build-up game. He's someone who likes to lead and is loud," Kahn said, quoted widely by German media.

Kahn, speaking on Bayern's US tour, said talking De Ligt into joining was "very easy", just "like Sadio Mane".

Kahn revealed how Senegal forward Mane had "thought for two days" before deciding to leave Liverpool for Bayern in June.

"It was the same with Matthijs de Ligt," said Kahn.

Bayern have lost Niklas Sule on a free transfer to Borussia Dortmund, and Omar Richards left for Nottingham Forest.

It remains to be seen whether Nagelsmann and Bayern elect to move on other fringe defenders after landing their prime target in De Ligt, but no such outgoing move appears imminent.

"At the moment we're not thinking in those categories," Kahn said.

With the end of one transfer saga comes the start of another. 

Robert Lewandowski has secured a long-awaited move to Barcelona, fulfilling a "dream" in the process and leaving Bayern Munich in the market for a new striker to lead their line.

But just how do you go about finding a like-for-like replacement for the most prolific marksman anywhere in the world?

One suggestion is that Bayern will make do with what they have, with Sadio Mane – a wide forward rather than a striker – having already been recruited from Liverpool this window.

While that may work, there are other potential options out there for Bayern to consider ahead of their latest title defence as they aim to win the Bundesliga for an 11th time in a row.

Here, Stats Perform takes a closer look at exactly what the Bavarian giants are losing in Lewandowski, and where they could go next.

LEWY LEADS THE WAY

Labelling Lewandowski as the best striker in European football is not hyperbolic when assessing the cold hard facts. 

The Poland international is coming off the back of a campaign that saw him register 50 goals in 46 games in all competitions, which is six goals more than the next-best Karim Benzema among players from Europe's top five leagues.

It is not like Lewandowski's output levels were dropping, either. The 35 league goals he registered last season are second only to the record-breaking 41 netted in the 2020-21 campaign across his 12 seasons in the German top flight with Borussia Dortmund and then Bayern.

Indeed, he has finished as the league's top scorer in each of the past five seasons, scoring 161 goals across that period, with no other player managing such a long streak in the competition's history. 

BEST OF THE REST

Put simply, Bayern surely cannot match those numbers with one player alone. If it is a pure goalscorer the German champions are after to fill the void, the aforementioned Benzema would be their best bet, the Real Madrid striker having scored 44 goals in 46 games last time out.

Persuading Madrid to let go of their focal point in attack would be nigh-on impossible, of course, likewise with Kylian Mbappe – Europe's third most prolific player in the 2021-22 season (39 goals in 46 games) – at Paris Saint-Germain.

Next on that particular list is RB Leipzig's highly-rated talent Cristopher Nkunku, who scored 35 goals in 52 matches last season and also chipped in with 16 assists. When purely weighing up goal involvements, Nkunku was only five short of Lewandowski last season, in a team with far less quality.

Indeed, Nkunku's 35 strikes last season came from an expected goals (xG) value of 28.23, meaning that he found the net 6.77 times more than he should have judging by the quality of the chances. Only Benzema (9.9) can better than across Europe's top five leagues.

Nkunku is not strictly a number nine, though, and his arrival – even if Bayern could tempt Leipzig into selling – would mean Julian Nagelsmann having to adapt his system in the final third of the field.

FORGET KANE... GO FOR KALAJDZIC

The likes of Timo Werner, Patrick Schick and Harry Kane are other names to have been touted as possible replacements for Lewandowski. Kane in particular would suit Bayern's system, and Bayern CEO Oliver Kahn admitted last week it would be a "dream" signing – while at the same time completely dismissing a move for wantaway Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo.

With another couple of years to run on Kane's contract, however, and Tottenham demanding a nine-figure sum from Manchester City this time last year, the Bavarians would have to spend big to bring in the England international.

For a club that has only once spent in excess of €40m on an attacking player – Leroy Sane from Manchester City two years ago – and having already splashed the cash to bring in Mane from Liverpool, that seems unlikely to happen.

There is more than goals alone to judging just how good a striker is, of course, and some players are certainly more attainable than others. Look no further than Sasa Kalajdzic, who boasts a number of qualities suited to Nagelsmann, not least his presence in the box.

At six foot and seven inches, Kalajdzic is one of the tallest players around and knows how to put that to good use, with exactly half of his 22 Bundesliga goals coming via his head.

Despite playing just 22 top-flight matches since his Stuttgart debut at the end of the 2019-20 season, those 11 headed goals are bettered only by Andre Silva (12) and – him again – Lewandowski (13), who have played 45 and 83 games in that period respectively.

Kalajdzic may have missed most of last season through injury, but six goals in 15 games for a side involved in a relegation scrap suggests he is a player with plenty of potential and, just as importantly, likely to be gettable, as Stuttgart director Sven Mislintat recently admitted given the 25-year-old is out of contract next year.

MANE AND GNABRY TO STEP UP?

Away from the dream options and outside picks to take over from Lewandowski, Kahn himself said last week that in Mane his side already have a ready-made replacement.

Position wise that is not technically true, of course, but there is no doubt that Mane's goals return across his six seasons with Liverpool was mightily impressive.

With 120 goals in all competitions for Liverpool, he averaged a goal every 189 minutes – exactly one every two matches. Mane also assisted 37 goals, meaning he was directly involved in a goal every 137 minutes. 

In the Premier League, only Kane (134), former team-mate Mohamed Salah (118) and Leicester City's Jamie Vardy (104) scored more goals than Mane (90) over the course of his Liverpool career.

Unlike with Liverpool's front three, Bayern have been used to having one focal point up top in Lewandowski.

Serge Gnabry, who recently signed a contract extension at the Allianz Arena, can also play through the middle if called upon, and has done so to good effect for the Germany national side.

If reports from the German media are to be believed, that is the route Nagelsmann will have to go down for the 2022-23 season until a big-name number nine can be recruited further down the line.

Whether it will work will be intriguing to see, with the only certainty in all this being that Bayern can no longer turn to go-to man Lewandowski in their time of need.

Leon Goretzka will miss Bayern Munich's pre-season tour of the United States after undergoing surgery on his troublesome knee injury.

The Germany international only managed 19 Bundesliga appearances in the 2021-22 season after battling an issue with his left knee.

Goretzka has subsequently gone under the knife on Monday, ruling him out of clashes with D.C. United and Manchester City before the DFL-Supercup final against RB Leipzig on July 30.

Reports suggest the 27-year-old could be out for up to two months, leaving Julian Nagelsmann short of midfield options for the early part of the 2022-23 Bundesliga season.

Goretzka would likely have partnered Joshua Kimmich in midfield, with Marcel Sabitzer or new arrival from Ajax Ryan Gravenberch among the potential replacements for the Bundesliga champions.

Bayern may look to push through on their reported interest for Leipzig's Konrad Laimer as another option in midfield, as they prepare for the campaign without Robert Lewandowski, who is set to join Barcelona.

Robert Lewandowski declared it was time for Barcelona to "get back on track" after securing his long-awaited move to Camp Nou, as the Poland international revealed he had always dreamed of playing in LaLiga.

Barcelona confirmed on Saturday they had reached an agreement in principle to sign Lewandowski from Bayern Munich, before completing a deal reportedly worth €50million for the 33-year-old on Sunday.

Lewandowski scored 50 goals across all competitions as Bayern won a 10th consecutive Bundesliga title last term, but made his desire to join the Catalan giants clear at the end of the season.

The 33-year-old leaves Bayern having scored 312 Bundesliga goals, a tally only bettered by legendary striker Gerd Muller (365), and will provide a new focal point for a Barcelona team which scored 12 goals fewer than LaLiga champions Real Madrid last season. 

Having joined his new Blaugrana team-mates in Florida ahead of a friendly against Inter Miami, Lewandowski has targeted restoring Barcelona to the top of the Spanish game, with the league title having evaded the club since 2018-19.

"Finally I'm here, I'm very happy," Lewandowski told the club's media channels. "The last few days were very long days but in the end, the deal is done, so I can focus on a new chapter in my life, a new challenge.

"I am always the guy who wants to win, not only the games but the titles, so I hope from the beginning of the season we're going to start by winning, and go to [win] titles at the end of the season.

"I always wanted to play in LaLiga, I wanted to play for the big clubs.

"Now it's my next step, this opportunity that I had. Also for my private life, it's a new challenge, a new life.

"It's time to get [Barcelona] back on track and that's why I'm here, to help Barcelona be on top and win as many titles as possible.

"For me, the goals are always high. We have so many good players with amazing quality, and we know that with this team we can achieve a lot this season, I'm sure it's going to be like that."

Lewandowski joins the likes of Franck Kessie, Andreas Christensen and Raphinha in signing for Barcelona in this transfer window as Xavi looks to reshape his squad after finishing a distant second to Madrid in LaLiga last season.

And the striker believes Xavi is the ideal man to revive Barca after a difficult few seasons, as he revealed he had been in contact with the former midfielder throughout his transfer saga.

"I was speaking with Xavi, from the beginning I knew that his idea was going in a good way, with this idea it was easy for me to decide to come to Barcelona," he added.

"I know I'm the guy who wants to play, to win, and I think with Xavi it's very possible. 

"He knows exactly how to coach Barcelona because he was amazing player, now he's also a very good coach with an amazing future and I want to be part of this as well."

Roma's project under Jose Mourinho may have approached a fork in the road, despite winning the Europa Conference League last season.

Confirming the departures of Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pau Lopez, while bringing in Zeki Celik and Nemanja Matic, the squad is slowly starting to look more like Mourinho's.

They still need a creative talent to tie it all together, though, and it appears they might land one of the biggest free agents on the market.

TOP STORY – ROMA MAKE MOVE FOR DYBALA

Paulo Dybala could make a shock move to Roma, reportedly accepting their offer for him to join the club on a free transfer, according to Gianluca di Marzio.

After Inter backed out of the race to secure his signature following the expiry of his contract at Juventus, Napoli and Roma emerged as potential destinations for the 28-year-old.

The Argentina international has reportedly accepted Roma's offer, a three-year deal worth a gross salary of €6million a season plus bonuses.

ROUND-UP

– Frenkie de Jong is opposed to joining Manchester United and has imposed on Barcelona his preference for Bayern Munich, Sport is reporting.

– The same publication is also reporting Tottenham are prepared to pay £14.4m (€17m) for Memphis Depay but the 28-year-old is also reluctant to leave Barcelona.

– Meanwhile, Barca have turned their attention to signing Sevilla defender Jules Kounde, per Marca.

– Chelsea striker Armando Broja will join West Ham on a season-long loan, according to the Daily Mail.

Sebastian Haller says he does not want to be labelled as "someone's successor" after replacing Erling Haaland at Borussia Dortmund.

Haaland scored 86 goals in 89 appearances during his two-and-a-half-year spell at Dortmund before making a big-money move to Manchester City last month.

That tally was bettered by only Robert Lewandowski (123 in 108 games) and Kylian Mbappe (93 in 111 games) of players from Europe's top five leagues during that period.

Dortmund swiftly acted to replace the Norway international, signing Haller from Ajax for a reported €36million and exciting forward Karim Adeyemi from RB Salzburg.

Haller caught the eye with Ajax during a talismanic 18-month spell that included 11 goals in just eight Champions League appearances in the 2021-22 season.

But the Ivory Coast striker was quick to dismiss comparisons with Haaland, insisting he did not want to be viewed as a replacement for the prolific striker.

"I'm not coming to Borussia Dortmund as someone's successor, but because the club needs my quality," he told reporters on Sunday at Dortmund's Bad Ragaz training camp in Switzerland. 

"So I'll do my best to give back the confidence. I knew that BVB had been interested for a long time, by that I mean during the last season.

"But there is a big difference between interest and the transfer fee. When it became concrete, I felt that Dortmund had a very good option for me. In the end, it certainly wasn't a bad deal for Ajax either."

Barcelona struck a deal with Bayern Munich on Saturday to bring Lewandowski to the Blaugrana for a reported €50m, including add-ons.

The Poland captain scored 50 goals last season in all competitions, more than any other player in Europe's top five leagues, but Haller refused to suggest Bayern would be weaker without Lewandowski.

"Time will tell. I'm here now to play for Borussia Dortmund and do my best. Not to talk about the situation at other clubs," he added.

"It doesn't matter to me whether he still played at Bayern or not. I want to win games with my team. I don't focus on other teams.

"First of all, to be able to achieve anything, we have to win our games. If we're not successful, then we don't need to look at others anyway.

"I focus on the way we play, on our team, and I want to adapt quickly instead of worrying about our opponents getting weaker. It's like this: If you want to win titles, you have to focus on yourself."

Dortmund start their new campaign with a DFB-Pokal tie against 1860 Munich on July 26, with their Bundesliga season starting at home to Bayer Leverkusen on August 6.

Robert Lewandowski's time at Bayern Munich has come to an end.

Barcelona have struck a deal in principle with the Bundesliga champions to sign the star forward, who expressed his desire to leave Munich at the end of last season.

Lewandowski scored 50 goals across all competitions in the 2021-22 campaign, continuing his remarkable form across his eight-year spell in Bavaria.

Before his move to Bayern in 2014, Lewandowski was brilliant for Borussia Dortmund, and he leaves Germany as one of the Bundesliga's greatest performers, having scored 344 goals and contributing 57 assists.

Here are the 33-year-old's best figures and records from his stint in Germany's top tier.
 

Bossing the Bundesliga

312 - Lewandowski has scored 312 Bundesliga goals, the second most scored by any player in the history of the competition behind the great Gerd Muller's tally of 365.

128 - Of those 312 goals, 128 have come on the road, which is the most by any Bundesliga player.

7 - Lewandowski finished as the Bundesliga's top scorer in seven different seasons, equalling the record set by Bayern legend Muller.

41 - He also broke Muller's long-standing record of scoring 40 goals in a single Bundesliga season when he netted 41 in the 2020-21 campaign.

5 - The Poland forward has finished as the league's top scorer in the last five seasons, with no other player managing such a long streak in the competition's history.
 

A king in Europe

86 - Lewandowski has scored 86 Champions League goals, with only Cristiano Ronaldo (140) and Lionel Messi (125) having scored more, while his tally is matched by Real Madrid star Karim Benzema.

106 -Yet no other player has needed fewer Champions League appearances to reach 86 goals (Lewandowski 106, Messi 107, Ronaldo 121, Benzema 141).

23 - In the 2021-22 season, Lewandowski scored three goals within the first 23 minutes against RB Salzburg in the last 16. That is the quickest hat-trick in Champions League history.

5 - Lewandowski has scored three or more goals in a Champions League game on five occasions, with only Ronaldo and Messi (both eight) doing so more times.

1 - He is the only player to score four goals in a Champions League semi-final tie, having done so for Dortmund against Madrid in 2013.

Barcelona and Bayern Munich have struck a deal for the transfer of Robert Lewandowski in one of the biggest moves of the window so far.

Lewandowski scored 50 goals across all competitions last season but announced at the end of the campaign that he wished to leave Bayern and would not be signing a new contract with the Bundesliga champions.

With Bayern facing the prospect of keeping an unhappy player and then losing the Poland captain on a free transfer next year, they have elected to cash in and grant Lewandowski's wish to join Barca.

Lewandowski returned to Munich for pre-season training on July 12 but all parties were said to want an agreement to have been made prior to Bayern's tour of the United States.

The Catalan club have been hampered by financial difficulties but managed to put together a bid reportedly worth €50million which has been enough to convince Bayern to part company with the 33-year-old.

Barcelona announced on Saturday an agreement in principle had been reached for Lewandowski, with completion of the deal contingent on him passing a medical on contracts being signed.  

Lewandowski joined Bayern from Bundesliga rivals Borussia Dortmund on a free transfer in 2014 and went on to become one of the world's most prolific goalscorers.

In the 2020-21 campaign, Lewandowski broke Gerd Muller's long-standing Bundesliga record by scoring 41 goals in a single season, while his 43 league goals in 2021 serve as the record for a calendar year in Germany's top tier.

Lewandowski's 312 Bundesliga goals are the second-most scored by any player in the history of the competition, behind Muller (365), while he leaves Bayern having accumulated 344 goals and 57 assists across 375 appearances in all competitions.

The forward will become Barca's fourth signing of the transfer window, following on from Raphinha, Franck Kessie and Andreas Christensen, while the Blaugrana have also tied Ousmane Dembele down to a new contract.

Bayern, meanwhile, brought in Sadio Mane from Liverpool earlier in the window, in essence replacing Lewandowski already, while they are expected to sign defender Matthijs de Ligt from Juventus.

Serge Gnabry has signed a new deal with Bayern Munich until 2026, putting an end to speculation he could leave the club in this transfer window.

The Germany international had just one year remaining on his previous contract at the Allianz Arena, and reports suggested the club could look to move him on in this window should an agreement not be reached for an extension.

Links with Real Madrid, Chelsea and former club Arsenal were put to bed on Saturday, though, as Bayern announced Gnabry had penned a new deal.

On the same day the German giants confirmed they had reached an agreement to sell star striker Robert Lewandowski to Barcelona, news of Gnabry's extension will give Bayern fans with something to smile about.

Gnabry has made 171 appearances in all competitions for Bayern since arriving from Werder Bremen in 2017, scoring 64 goals.

The 27-year-old winger has won four Bundesliga titles, two DFB-Pokals and a Champions League in his time at Munich, and told the club's official website he wants to win even more in the coming years.

"I thought a lot about what I want as a player in the coming years, and came to the conclusion that I want to stay at FC Bayern, win everything again here and experience things - in particular celebrating another Champions League title, but this time with our fans," he said. 

"It's special because I get to play here with my friends at the highest level. It certainly wouldn't feel the same at a different club.

"I want to experience more great moments here - and nowhere else. The hunger for major honours isn't going away."

Gnabry scored 14 league goals in 2021-22, with only Lewandowski (35) bagging more for Bayern, while Thomas Muller (84), Joshua Kimmich (80), and Leroy Sane (50) were the only team-mates of his to create more chances (48).

Robert Lewandowski said his eight years at Bayern Munich had been "special" as he bid goodbye to players and staff from the German giants on Saturday.

The Poland striker is poised to seal a move to Barcelona after Bayern reportedly accepted a €50million offer from the LaLiga club.

Barcelona are said to be paying an initial €45million, plus €5million in performance-related add-ons, to secure the player who scored 50 goals for Bayern across all competitions last season.

Lewandowski was spotted at Sabener Strasse on Saturday morning taking part in training, before hugging team-mates and coaching staff at the end of the session.

The 33-year-old joined Bayern from Borussia Dortmund in 2014, and speaking to Germany's Sky Sport News, Lewandowski said: "I will come back and say goodbye to all the employees properly. I didn't have much time to prepare for it now.

"These eight years were special and you don't forget that. I had a great time in Munich. I will fly soon. But after the training camp I will come again and say goodbye properly and organise a few things.

"I said goodbye to the guys on the pitch today. I wasn't worried about an injury in training. Something can happen to me at home. I wanted to keep fit and so I trained with the boys again."

Bayern have already moved to limit the impact of Lewandowski's departure with the signing of Sadio Mane from Liverpool, while midfielder Ryan Gravenberch and right-back Noussair Mazraoui have also recently joined from Ajax.

According to Christian Falk of BILD Sport, Bayern CEO Oliver Kahn also confirmed that an agreement had been reached with Barca for Lewandowski, with Kahn quoted as saying: "We have now reached an agreement with FC Barcelona. So far, however, only verbally. The contract is still pending."

Robert Lewandowski is poised to seal a move to Barcelona after Bayern Munich reportedly accepted a €50million offer from the LaLiga giants.

Rather than appear at Bayern's team presentation event at the Allianz Arena on Saturday, Lewandowski is expected to travel to Spain to put the finishing touches to his transfer.

It will mark the end of a saga that began in May, when it emerged there was a mutual attraction between Lewandowski and Barcelona.

Reports indicate Barcelona will pay an initial €45m, plus €5m in performance-related add-ons, to secure the player who hit 50 goals for Bayern across all competitions last season.

That made him the leading scorer from Europe's top five leagues, and it came as a jolt to the Bundesliga champions when the 33-year-old Polish striker made clear his desire to leave.

Barcelona have been pulling together funds to allow the deal to proceed, and the arrival of Lewandowski will follow the signing of Brazilian winger Raphinha from Leeds United as Xavi pieces together a team he hopes can compete for honours with Real Madrid.

According to Bild journalist Heiko Niedderer, Lewandowski arrived at Bayern's Sabener Strasse training headquarters shortly before 08:30 local time (06:30 GMT) to collect his possessions and say his goodbyes.

Later in the day, the presentation of the team at Bayern's stadium was due to see the first team and new recruits paraded in front of supporters. That had promised to be awkward if Lewandowski's future had remained unresolved.

As he departs, having won eight consecutive Bundesliga titles since arriving in 2014 from Borussia Dortmund, Bayern are expected to step up their efforts to bring in Dutch defender Matthijs de Ligt from Juventus.

Barcelona are due to fly to the United States for a pre-season tour on Saturday, with games scheduled against Inter Miami, Real Madrid, Juventus and the New York Red Bulls.

Lewandowski is not anticipated to be on the team flight but will hope his transfer can be completed to allow him to join his new team-mates within days.

Bayern are also heading to the US in the coming week to step up their own pre-season work.

Thomas Tuchel has achieved his "top priority" for the transfer window by signing Raheem Sterling, while the Chelsea head coach cannot foresee Robert Lewandowski arriving.

Sterling joined Manchester City for a reported fee in the region of £45million on Wednesday, as Chelsea confirmed their first signing since Todd Boehly's consortium acquired the Blues.

The England international, who signed a five-year deal with Chelsea, scored 17 goals in all competitions for City last season, a tally bettered by only Riyad Mahrez (24) and Kevin De Bruyne (19).

Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo has also been linked to Stamford Bridge, alongside Barcelona's top target Robert Lewandowski from Bayern Munich.

Lewandowski scored 50 goals in all competitions last term, the most of any player across Europe's top five leagues, and Tuchel appreciates his quality but does not envisage bringing him in.

"I don't think we have a chance for Lewandowski but if there is a chance, he is one of the best number nines," said Tuchel.

"The priority is not on the number nine position right now. We have our top priority [Sterling], we have got our top priority signed. It makes me very, very happy and from there we are very flexible.

"He was the absolute number one for that position. I gave his name to Todd straight away. Every time we played against him, he's horrible to play against, horrible!

"The main point is his intensity and the amount of repetition of intensity that he delivers. This is simply outstanding over the last years.

"It's exactly what we need to raise the level of our players. That's why we are so sure and that's why he was, for us, top of the list.

"Our goal threat should be enough right now. If we think something crazy comes up that we don’t see, maybe we will get involved, maybe not."

The versatile Sterling is expected to bring experience to the Chelsea attack, a feature lacking at the back for the Blues after the departure of Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen.

Cesar Azpilicueta is reportedly wanted by Barca as well, while Chelsea appear set to bring in Napoli's Kalidou Koulibaly to somewhat fill the void in defence.

The minimum requirement for success under Boehly will be a top-four Premier League finish to qualify for the Champions League, and Tuchel acknowledged he must rebuild to develop a competitive squad.

"I think with Thiago [Silva] in the middle, Toni on the left and Azpi [Cesar Azpilicueta] or Andreas [on the right] we had the best back-three in the world," he added.

"It's possible [to rebuild at short notice]. We can, we have to. I think we can put a structure in place and we have a structure on which we can rely on.

"For example, if we play against Everton, Thiago can play, Trevoh Chalobah can hopefully play, and Azpi is at the moment here. 

"If there are guys still to be signed or not fully aware of the principles, I don't want to use it as an excuse. When I came in, I had one day to start with the back-three because it was a fit and I still think it will be a fit.

"The first 10 days or 11 days with the group have been outstanding. The mentality, worth ethic and quality in training is absolutely impressive and this makes me very happy.

"I want to be ready when we play Everton. I want to win and I will demand it from myself, my team and all my players.

"The team will be strong. I am not ready to use it as an excuse even though it is maybe true that we are in transition. We can, I can focus, I think the team can focus on what makes us strong and we can take it step by step and work out how to win games."

While Chelsea made their long-awaited first signing in Sterling, top-four rivals Arsenal, Tottenham and Manchester City have all been busy in the transfer window.

Tuchel was quick to hail the transfer dealings of Antonio Conte, who looks set to seal his sixth signing of the transfer window in Djed Spence, and conceded Chelsea will have to catch up with their competitors.

"I mean it when I said we fight against the best teams and the best coaches, which does not make life easier and they set the bar so high last season, but we start again from scratch," said Tuchel. 

"So we will try again. I can promise you that everybody is ready to try again. We will not give in before we play games. That's why the sanctions did not help. We lost important players and the other teams are recruiting, and did not have the losses that we had.

"If you look at the transfer period of Tottenham with Antonio Conte, it's maybe the strongest team they ever built. Manchester United will not give in, Arsenal will not give in, they've made two big signings already, so we are aware of the situation and try to do our best to be competitive."