Julian Draxler

German pundit Jan Aage Fjortoft has revealed on Twitter that Bayern Munich have entered the race to sign Julian Draxler from Schalke and have trumped Arsenal for his signature.

The former Premier League striker states that the German champions are willing to pay part of his fee in the summer but keep him at Schalke till 2015, a deal which is likely to attract the Bundesliga club given that they want to keep the 20-year-old for another year.

Arsenal were strongly linked with a move for the player in January but Arsene Wenger failed to agree a fee with the club, leaving them second favourites to Bayern when they try again in the summer.

The player has previously expressed his desire to move to the Premier League, but with Bayern interested, it will be difficult for the Gunners to prise him out of Germany.

"I understand Bayern will try to make a deal with Schalke where they pay part of fee now, but Draxler will come to Bayern 2015. I have been told that Arsenal felt they "lost" player when Bayern entered the stage. But I understand player hasn't decided yet," Fjortoft tweeted.

The midfielder is believed to have a release clause in the range of £37m which will be activated in the summer.

Manchester United are also interested in the midfielder but with the Red Devils set to miss out on Champions League football, it will be difficult for David Moyes to convince the youngster to make the trip to Old Trafford. The player himself is not averse to a move to England, having previously revealed his appreciation for Arsenal's style of football.

"You never know what happens in the summer but Arsenal is a very, very nice team. They always have very young players, they play attractive football and that's what I like," Draxler said last year.

"But I better not speak too much about it because tomorrow I can read that I like to play for Arsenal. I think the people at Schalke would not like to hear that," he added.