Arsenal 'red alert' in chase for Mario Gotze

A 'red alert' has gone out and it involves Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United.

According to the Daily Star the cause of the alarm is Bayern Munich star Mario Gotze, who has finally come clean and admitted "he's open to a move abroad". The German midfielder, who scored the winning goal in the World Cup final against Argentina, has been tailed by the trio of Premier League clubs for years with all three at one time or another linked to the 22-year-old playmaker. Asked by German rag Bild if he was still interested in leaving Bayern, Gotze replied: "A move abroad would certainly not be bad…a foreign country would also be tempting for someone of my personality."

Quizzed on whether his agent had been in touch with any English club, Gotze hastily replied he had not given a move "serious thought yet." Isn't that what they all say…?

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Still in Germany and caughtoffside claims that Manchester United won't be getting their hands on Mat Hummels any time soon. It was reported over the summer that the 25-year-old defender had been the subject of a £20m bid by United but the offer was rejected by Borussia Dortmund.

Now comes news that Hummels has put pen to paper and signed on for another term in the Bundesliga. "I wanted to set an example with the extension I signed and it will run for five years until 2017," Hummels explained. "It was the best thing that could have happened to me."

Elsewhere Chelsea have announced on their website that Thibault Courtois has penned a new five-year contract. The gloveman joined the Blues from Genk in 2011 and returned to Stamford Bridge this summer having spent the previous three seasons on loan at Atletico Madrid.

"I'm very happy with this new deal, it's really nice to have signed this new contract for five years," said the 22-year-old, who has displaced Petr Cech between the sticks at the Bridge. "My future was already sorted but it's nice to know I'm going to be here for another five years and now I can just concentrate on playing games."