Bayern Munich lead the chase for Dayot Upamecano, according to a report. Manchester United cool their interest, however, for the supposed Liverpool target.
This comes from the Athletic. They claim that Manchester United no longer want Dayot Upamecano and are out of the race.
That leaves Bayern Munich ‘in the driving seat’ for Upamecano and the player is ‘leaning’ in their direction. Although, the report admits things could change.
There is no mention of Liverpool there, however. Not that you have to look very hard to find links between the two.
SportBild claimed way back at the start of the season that Liverpool liked the look of his £36m release clause. That comes into effect at the end of this campaign – as backed up by that Athletic report.
Bild’s Christian Falk recently claimed that the Reds liked Upamecano, too. As did Simon Hughes of the Athletic on their Red Agenda podcast late last month.
What RTK has to say
Bayern will likely always be the primary competition if Liverpool do fancy going for Upamecano. They’re a massive team, they’ll have space in defence, and players in Germany do gravitate there.
So in that regard, United dropping out doesn’t really change anything. If Liverpool want the player, they can sway him away from Old Trafford simply by pointing at recent trophy hauls and league tables.
But Bayern are a real problem. Him leaning their now could be a problem, too, as it hurts any chance that Liverpool have of getting him in January.
We have no real idea if they want to splurge on a player in January, of course. But if they do, Upamecano may not want a move. It benefits him to wait until the end of the season where he can pick and choose potential suitors.
So, assuming the Athletic have their finger on the pulse of this one, we may have to rule out a January arrival.
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