Arsenal are favourites to sign Lioness Georgia Stanway in the summer, having held talks over a possible pre-contract agreement, sources have told ESPN.
The 27-year-old midfielder announced she would leave Bayern Munich at the end of the season after four years in Germany.
The reigning European champions have emerged as favourites to pen her signature having also been interested during the 2024 summer transfer window, sources said.
The club are hoping to agree a pre-contract agreement for the summer before the end of the current transfer window with positive talks having already taken place, though they may face competition with a number of other clubs also interested.
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“I am incredibly grateful to Bayern. Thankfully, my time here isn’t over yet,” Stanway said in a club statement on Saturday.
“The decision to leave was incredibly difficult. I definitely didn’t make it lightly. I’ve made friends and memories here that will last a lifetime, and I’ve been able to develop enormously as both a player and a person.
“I will give absolutely everything for Bayern and our sporting success until the very last day — just as I have for the past three and a half years.”
The two-time Euros winner was the first Lioness to play for Bayern Munich after moving to Germany after the 2022 Euros victory.
Bayern’s director of women’s football, Bianca Rech, said: “As the first English player at FC Bayern Women, Georgia Stanway not only made history but also stole our hearts. We talked a lot and openly about her future, and when she told us that she now wanted to try something new, her reasons were completely understandable.”