Bayern snap up Hamburg´s Olic

Bayern Munich have snapped up Hamburg’s Croatian international star Ivica Olic, who will join the Bavarians in the summer, Bayern said Saturday on their website.

“We have reached agreement – we just have to sign the deal,” said Bayern’s general manager Uli Hoeness from the club’s winter camp in Dubai.

Olic, 29 and who is out of contract in June with Hamburg, is to sign a three-year contract.

A sometime target for Juventus and Liverpool he has spent two seasons in northern Germany since arriving from CSKA Moscow, scoring 25 goals including six this term.

Olic has won 61 Croatian caps, scoring 11 goals.

At Bayern he will vy for a starting place with German international Miroslav Klose and Italian Luca Toni.

In contrast, the Bavarians are set to offload unwanted German forward Lukas Podolski, who has not settled since a 2006 move from Cologne, who would like him back despite interest from assorted other European clubs.