According to a report by Foot Mercato, the transfer of Atletico Madrid’s Lucas Hernandez to Bayern Munich may already be a done deal behind the scenes. Citing sources close to both clubs, the report alleges that Bayern have had the deal wrapped up for weeks now, and the Frenchman is set to sign a long term contract (4-5 years) and join the Allianz Arena in the summer.

The price of the move? 80 million euros, which is the same as Hernandez’s release clause — no mention of any discount for not buying him in January. That might make it seem like delaying the move was for nothing, but reportedly Bayern have already paid €40m to Atletico, and the remaining €40m will be paid in the summer.

This could help Bayern’s cash flow, making it easier for the club to acquire several high-profile targets in the summer of 2019 without going over budget. Bayern still have to pay €35m to Stuttgart to finalize the transfer of Benjamin Pavard to Munich, and the Bavarians are allegedly ready to pay €80m for Lille winger Nicolas Pepe and another €30m for Chelsea’s Callum Hudson-Odoi. A transfer of Timo Werner from RB Leipzig is reportedly also in the works.

If all, or even most, of those transfers go through, then this will still be the biggest Bayern Munich transfer window ever. 80 million euros would make Lucas Hernandez the most expensive defender in world football, more than Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk.

It may be worth it. The Frenchman is a World Cup winner and versatile enough to play as both a center-back and a left-back. He has the agility and physicality to be a perfect defender for Niko Kovac’s system, and his ability to play at left-back could be invaluable in case David Alaba ever gets injured. The only worry here is his recent knee injuries — hopefully, they don’t follow him to Munich.

Seems like Uli Hoeness wasn’t kidding when he said that the club had some huge transfers lined up.