Bayern Munich legend Lothar Matthaus has urged the German giants to make a shock move for Arsenal flop Kostas Mavropanos.
The Greek international is currently in the midst of a loan spell in the Bundesliga with VfB Stuttgart and has impressed since making the switch. He has played 19 games in all competitions thus far and netted five goals from the centre of defence.
It seems almost certain that his adoptive employers will trigger their option for a permanent transfer for the 24-year-old following his performances.
The club’s sporting director - and former Arsenal man - Sven Mislintat has confirmed the nominal fee that Stuttgart will have to pay to secure his services.
Talking in October, he said: "We have a purchase obligation of €3million (£2.5million) if we remain in the league."
However, Mavropanos might not actually be a full-time employee of Die Roten for very long, with a number of clubs around Europe keeping a close eye on the defender including Borussia Dortmund and West Ham United.
It is suggested that it would take a fee of £21million to convince Stuttgart to sell - and indeed make a quick profit on the Arsenal man.
Now, Matthaus has urged Bayern Munich to make a move to Mavropanos amid Niklas Sule’s apparent decision to depart the Allianz Arena at the end of the campaign.
He said: "I'm assuming that Bayern won’t make any big improvements.
"If Sule were to leave, a trained defender might be more important than a central midfielder.
"There are some very interesting players in the Bundesliga. I'm thinking of Stuttgart's Mavropanos, Leipzig's Gvardiol or Bochum's Bella Kotchap.
"Everyone plays a really good role in the Bundesliga, would certainly be financially feasible for Bayern and could develop further under Nagelsmann."
Should Bayern complete a deal for Mavropanos, it would not be the first time that the German giants have made the Gunners’ transfer strategy has been made to look narrow-minded.
The Bundesliga powerhouses completed a deal for winger Serge Gnabry for a fee believed to be in the region of £6.5million after the Gunners had let him leave for an even smaller fee for Werder Bremen.
The German forward has of course gone on to star at the Allianz Arena, netting 59 goals and providing 37 assists, winning three Bundesliga titles and the Champions League in the process.
