Bayern Munich have signed French right-back Sacha Boey from Turkish giants Galatasaray on a four-and-a-half-year contract.
The German champions have agreed to fork out an initial €30m (£25.6m) for the signature of the 23-year-old, which could rise to €35m (£29.9m) with performance-related add-ons.
Galatasaray have also negotiated a sell-on clause with Bayern, who have bestowed Boey with the number 23 shirt, and he becomes their second arrival of the January transfer window after Tottenham Hotspur loanee Eric Dier.
The former France youth international arrives in Bavaria to reinforce a ravaged Bayern backline, which is currently without all of Joshua Kimmich, Konrad Laimer, Noussair Mazraoui, Kim Min-jae, Bouna Sarr and Dayot Upamecano due to injuries and international commitments.
"This is a dream come true for me. It's an honour for me to get to play for such a big club like Bayern. I'm really looking forward to my new team and getting to play with all these great players in the future. As a player, I'm a defender who likes to attack, just as happy being involved up front as in defence," Boey told the official Bayern website.
A product of the Rennes youth network, Boey made just 12 appearances for the Ligue 1 club before leaving on a permanent deal for Galatasaray in 2021, but he did not take long to make a name for himself in Turkey.
From 83 appearances in a Galatasaray shirt, Boey scored four goals and set up four more, providing all of those assists during the Lions' run to the 2022-23 Turkish Super Lig title last season.
♦️2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣8️⃣♦️ #ServusSacha pic.twitter.com/nDnMW0AMsV
— FC Bayern Munich (@FCBayernEN) January 28, 2024
The 23-year-old subsequently played every minute of Galatasaray's short-lived Champions League group-stage run this season, in which he netted once against Copenhagen and also squared up to new employers Bayern on two occasions.
Manchester United - whom Boey also faced in the Champions League - and Arsenal were both said to have been interested in a deal for the defender, but Bayern have beaten their Premier League adversaries to his signature.
"We're pleased to have signed a young player with a lot of potential on a long-term deal in Sacha Boey," Bayern CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen added.
"He performed really well in both Champions League games against us. It means we haven't just improved our squad depth but also added further quality."
Finally, sporting director Christoph Freund said: "Sacha Boey is a very quick and physically strong right-back, who covers a lot of ground in every game and doesn't shy away from any tackles.
"He was a fan favourite at Galatasaray, has developed very well down the years, arrives with Champions League experience and won the league title with Galatasaray last season. He will increase our quality in defence."
Boey will be in contention to make his debut for Thomas Tuchel's side next weekend, when the Bundesliga champions welcome Borussia Monchengladbach to the Allianz Arena.
Bayern remain in second place in the Bundesliga table behind Bayer Leverkusen, but they cut the gap down to two points with a nervy 3-2 win over Augsburg on Saturday.
Ben Knapton
