There is big news on the transfer front in Germany. Bayern Munich has finally reached an agreement with Athletic de Bilbao to sign its Spanish international Javi Martínez, according to reports in German newspaper ‘Bild’. The club will pay a fixed fee of €30 million, plus a further €10 million in performance-based variables over the course of the five-year contract the midfielder will sign with the Bavarian outfit.

The deal will be the most expensive in the history of the Bundesliga. Aged just 23, Javi Martínez is a World Cup and European Championship winner with Spain and has cemented his status as one of the biggest talents in Spanish football. Both Real Madrid and Barcelona have previously expressed interest in adding him to their ranks on various occasions, but in the end the German team has landed its man.

Javi Martínez’s signing will be the icing on the cake for last year’s Champions League runners-up, which has a star-studded squad hell-bent on regaining its place at the top of the German football pyramid, having been ousted by Borussia Dortmund for the last two years. Javi Martínez has been Jupp Heynckes’ top target for the last few months, but clinching a deal has proven a struggle owing to the high asking price demanded by Bilbao, which was unwilling to part ways with one of its main men on the cheap.