Borussia Mönchengladbach and Hertha BSC lost out in the courtship for top talent Gabriel Vidovic from FC Bayern. Contrary to a recent “kicker” report, FC Bayern have now decided against loaning Vidovic within the Bundesliga and instead accommodated the 18-year-old in Arnhem.
“Gabriel has proven with his good performances in preparation that he deserves to be in our professional squad. We have now considered together what is best for his development and decided to go on loan to Vitesse Arnhem,” explained FCB sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic the deal.
Borussia Mönchengladbach and Hertha BSC had also tried to get the youngster, but are now left empty-handed.
Gladbach had requested a purchase option in addition to a one-year loan. The old lady wanted to loan the youngster not just for one season, but for two years, they say. Both models were out of the question for FC Bayern.
Why Arnhem instead of Gladbach or Hertha BSC?
In Arnhem, on the other hand, those responsible for the German record champions are hoping for the best development opportunities for Vidovic. His loan runs until the summer of 2023.
“Gabriel has better chances there to play regularly. Arnhem is a very well-recognized European address for developing talent. Examples like Mason Mount or Martin Odegaard show that,” said Salihamidzic.
The Dutch are said to be outfitting the Augsburg-born Croatian with the shirt number 10 – a clear indication that Vidovic is planned as an important player at Vitesse under German coach Thomas Letsch.
Four appearances for the FC Bayern pros
The club has made a name for itself as a talent factory in recent years. Today’s top players like Mason Mount from Chelsea or Martin Odegaard from Arsenal played there. There has been a long-standing partnership with the Blues, so there are always players on loan from team manager Thomas Tuchel’s club.
Vidovic switched to FC Bayern from the FC Augsburg youth team in 2016 and then let the Munich youth teams through. After all, four assignments with the professionals are now also in his CV.
In the short term, however, the prospects for further match practice in the star ensemble from the Isar were too bad. Hence the loan to the Netherlands.