PSG Reportedly Pip Barcelona to Thilo Kehrer, Jerome Boateng Set for Bayern Stay

Paris Saint-Germain have reportedly beaten Barcelona and Bayern Munich to the signing of Schalke youngster Thilo Kehrer, 21, in a move that will see Jerome Boateng stay at the Allianz Arena. 

The Guardian reported PSG had reached a €37 million (£33 million) agreement to sign Kehrer to a four-year contract. Calciomercato.com cited Bild, which said Boateng will remain with Die Roten as a result.

Boateng was being linked with moves to Manchester United and PSG this summer amid plenty of exit speculation, but the six-time Bundesliga winner is now set to prolong his stay in Bavaria.

The Guardian quoted Schalke sporting director Christian Heidel, who said that Kehrer had agreed to extend his contract—which was set to expire in 2019—prior to the PSG move being finalised for financial reasons:

"In the end, we decided to go for the transfer on financial grounds. Particularly since the player's contract is due to expire next year.

"A few weeks ago we had actually agreed a contract extension with Thilo. If this offer from PSG were not to have come through, I'm sure he would have gone ahead with the extension, likewise if we had turned the offer down or in the unlikely event something was to stop this deal going ahead."

Sportswriter Lars Pollmann echoed Heidel's sentiment that the offer was simply too good to turn down for a 21-year-old defender with less than one year left to run on his deal, albeit one capped nine times for Germany's under-21s:

Barcelona have already signed central defender Clement Lenglet from Sevilla this summer to offer an alternative behind Gerard Pique and Samuel Umtiti. Thomas Vermaelen also still has a year left to run on his deal at the Camp Nou.

Others agreed the fee was disproportionate given the factors at play, though PSG appeared happy to improve upon their first offer, which Calciomercato said was worth only €18 million (£16 million):

ESPN FC's Jonathan Johnson recently wrote that PSG manager Thomas Tuchel wanted Boateng at the Parc des Princes. He cited Le Parisien, which said a deal could be finalised for a sum of around €45 million (£40.2 million).

In that sense, Kehrer may offer more value compared to a defender who will turn 30 in September and has missed 33 games in the past two seasons, per Transfermarkt. Umtiti, 24, is the youngest of Barca's centre-back options as things stand, but Kehrer would have offered a longer-term project.

Thomas Muller will be content to see his club team-mate of seven years remain in Munich, per Goal's Ronan Murphy:

Ligue 1's summer transfer window doesn't close until August 31, but it's difficult to imagine PSG will look to recruit Boateng after Kehrer's arrival, with Thiago Silva, Marquinhos and Presnel Kimpembe already fighting for the two centre-back spots.

Bayern might have attracted an optimal fee for Boateng this summer, with three years still left to run on his contract, but it appears likely he'll now stay in Bavaria as PSG instead invest in a different Bundesliga asset.