MADRID (Reuters) - Atletico Madrid defender Lucas Hernandez will join German champions Bayern Munich for 80 million euros (72.13 million pounds) when the winter transfer window opens in January, Spanish daily Marca reported on Wednesday.
Marca said that the French World Cup winner -- who signed a contract until 2024 with his boyhood club in June -- has agreed a four-year deal with the Bundesliga side after being told he is key to their plans as they look to regenerate an ageing squad.
Bayern will pay the full buyout clause stipulated in his contract, Marca reported.
Spanish law says that all players must have a set amount in their contract that allows them to be bought out of the deal, as was the case when Neymar joined Paris St Germain for a world record 222 million euros in 2017 against his then club Barcelona’s wishes.
Hernandez made his debut for Atletico in December 2014 and has gone on to become an important member of Diego Simeone’s team, playing a key role in their Europa League success last season, before cementing a spot in France’s team that won the World Cup in Russia.
Should the deal go through Hernandez would become the second-most expensive defender in history, behind Virgil van Dijk, who joined Liverpool for a fee reported by British media to be 75 million pounds last January.
(Reporting by Joseph Cassinelli; Editing by Toby Davis)