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According to Sky Sports Germany, and now corroborated by reporters from both Bild and TZ, Bayern Munich are interested in RB Leipzig defender Dayot Upamecano. The big Frenchman, also a rumored target for Arsenal this winter, would be an immense addition to a squad which needs defensive reinforcements.
Here’s Christian Falk of Bild corroborating the initial report by Sky:
True: @FCBayern is interested in Upamecano. The player was already offered to the club in 2016. But Michael Reschke (at this time technical director) said no. in retrospect, in the Club this was rated as a wrong decision https://t.co/7FPFQLMKfQ
— Christian Falk (@cfbayern) January 23, 2020
If the claim about missing out on Upamecano in 2016 is true, then that’s a huge gaffe by Michael Reschke. Of course, the man made up for it by signing Kingsley Coman, Serge Gnabry, and Joshua Kimmich, so we won’t hold it against him — but still, yoou can’t help but wonder what could have been.
TZ’s Manuel Bonke also chimed in on the story:
Interessant: Leipzigs #Upamecano war bereits vergangenen Winter Thema beim #FCBayern. Damals sollen die Ablöse-Vorstellungen zwischen den Vereinen aber zu weit auseinander gelegen haben. https://t.co/TQG3FoEQFm
— Manuel Bonke (@mano_bonke) January 22, 2020
Interesting: Leipzigs #Upamecano was already a topic at last winter #FCBayern , At that time, the transfer ideas between the clubs were said to be too far apart.
This basically means that Bayern tried to get Upamecano last year, but failed as Leipzig asked for too much money. A transfer might be more plausible this time around, as the Frenchman’s contract expires in 2021 with no signs of an extension.
Upamecano has his fair share of injury worries, but he is a beastly defender and a great passer of the ball who’d fit right in with the team. If he is on the market for a fair price — €50m was the number mentioned when Arsenal were involved — then the Bavarians should take it. A center back with his combination of pace, physicality, and passing ability is priceless in the modern game, and it would be a shame to let him go to the EPL.