Dayot Upamecano deal can only happen if two stars sacrifice their place

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Liverpool reportedly want to do a deal for Dayot Upamecano. But that can only realistically happen if two players sacrifice their places.

You can easily find reports regarding Liverpool wanting a deal for Dayot Upamecano. We have two from just today, in fact.

The Guardian reports that Liverpool want the player, who has a £39m release clause this summer. While BILD journalist Christian Falk believes the Reds are one of three clubs to make contact with Upamecano’s management.

Now, we believe the Frenchman is remarkable value at that price. He’s young but with plenty of experience at the highest level. And that’s before you get into just how well he plays.

But that means there will be a fight for him – one that seems to be underway. A whole host of Europe’s clubs will hope to tempt Upamecano.

And that’s the goal here. You just need to convince the player, assuming you can match that release clause.

If Liverpool have made contact, we can assume they have the money to do just that. Convincing Upamecano to turn down everyone else is the hard bit, then.

Doing so from a Liverpool perspective will mean two players missing out. They may have to outright sacrifice their places.

Sacrifice

Upamecano is not joining a team where he isn’t playing every week. He has absolutely no reason to do so, given his plethora of options. Options at the top of the game, too.

He’ll want first-team football and you’ll have to give it to him in order to secure this deal.

Virgil van Dijk is certain to play every game, as long as he’s fit. That will remain the case if he suffers no long-term effects from his injury.

But Joe Gomez and Joel Matip are at risk if Liverpool sign Upamecano. One more so than the other.

Matip would simply fall down to fourth-choice in Liverpool’s pecking order. He’s too injury prone to be any higher, in truth, and arguably the weakest of the options.

That’s no criticism, either – Liverpool would just have fantastic options.

But that could be the end of a serious Anfield career for Matip. He’s pushing 30 and would have two young defenders ahead of him. That’s virtually impossible to come back from.

As for Gomez, he’d also sacrifice. He’s been first-choice alongside Van Dijk when both are fit. Virtually all of last season, really.

But he’d likely have to take a backseat if Upamecano arrived. Short-term, anyway.

The long-term goal would undoubtedly be a Gomez/Upamecano partnership. They’re the right age to make it happen and that can be Liverpool’s defence going forward.

But for starters, Gomez might have to sit games out. It’s the only way we can see this Upamecano deal happening.