Hot property Serge Gnabry on German giants' radar

Ex-Arsenal midfielder Serge Gnabry has taken the Bundesliga by storm since he exchanging north London for Werder Bremen, so it is no wonder the vultures are circling. The 21-year-old, who made the move over the summer for a fee of just £5 million, has been the shining light in a struggling Bremen side this term - his seven goals and two assists have gone a long way to ensuring the previously bottom club did not spend the winter break in the relegation zone again.

Speculation has been rife linking the young forward with a move to Bayern Munich — who visit the Weserstadion on Saturday — in recent weeks, with Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger hinting that the German giants may have played a role in Gnabry's switch to Werder Bremen. "At the time it looked like Bayern Munich were behind it. I don't really know," the 67-year-old said.

But Bayern are keeping their cards close to their chests, for now. "Of course, we will always observe German national team players, but I don't know whether we'll do something about it," Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said recently.

Wenger also dismissed reports linking Gnabry with a sensational return to the Emirates, saying he is not interested in making an approach despite the youngster having a £6.8 million release clause in his contract at Bremen - a bargain if he carries the same rich vein of form into the second half of the season that saw him become one of the most exciting young forwards in Germany. The Frenchman remained emphatic: "No we've sold Serge definitely to Bremen."

And Jean-Hermann Gnabry has urged his son, who scored a hat-trick against San Marino on his international debut back in November, to stay and continue his development under Alexander Nouri for now. "I don't know about the release clause. But what I know is that he needs to establish himself here first," Gnabry's father told reporters.