Bayern Munich line up Paris Saint-Germain ace this summer

Bayern Munich head coach Carlo Ancelotti is determined to land Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Marco Verratti at the end of the season, reports Le Parisien.

Verratti, 24, is widely regarded as one of the best technical central midfielders in Europe and has been heavily linked with a return to Italy this season with Inter and Juventus among the side regularly linked with his signature.

However, both Serie A giants could face competition from Bayern in the summer with Ancelotti keen to reunite with Verratti following their time together at PSG, which ended when the Italian manager left the club in 2013.

Bayern have earmarked finding a long-term successor to Xabi Alonso as a top priority in the summer, with the Spaniard’s current deal due to expire at the end of the season when he will be 35.

Ancelotti and Verratti are reportedly still in contact despite the fact their working relationship ended four years ago and the Bayern head coach believes the Italy international has everything to succeed Alonso at the Allianz Arena.

However, the reigning Bundesliga champions would need to overcome several hurdles in order to prize Verratti away from the French capital, not least the fact they would probably be required to shatter their club transfer record by almost double to land him.

Verratti’s current deal is not due to expire until 2021 and it’s not in Bayern’s nature to spend enormous money on players given they have not broken their club transfer record since outlaying £34m on Javi Martinez in 2012.

In Ligue 1 this season only Thiago Motta (96.1) averages more passes per game than Verratti (89).

For more stats on Marco Verratti, click here to visit his WhoScored player page