Arsenal target Upamecano wants to play in the Premier League
Arsenal and Manchester United are both interested in signing Red Bull Leipzig’s Dayot Upamecano who wants to play in the Premier League, according to Jan Aage Fjortoft of ESPN.
The French central defender will not be on the move in the January transfer window but is likely to leave RB Leipzig in the summer. He signed a two year contract extension in the summer which means he will have two years remaining on his deal at the end of the 2020/21 season.
The 22-year-old is one of Europe’s most promising young centre backs and has courted interest from a host of elite clubs in the continent. Bayern Munich are believed to be very keen on signing him next summer but the player would prefer a move to England. Arsenal have a long standing interest in the player and had a £55 million bid rejected for his services in the summer of 2019.
RB Leipzig are likely to be willing to sell their star defender for around £45 million next summer. Manchester United were linked with Upamecano in the summer but they did not make an official bid for the player and he ended up signing a new deal. They could go back in for the France international next year.
The Gunners signed Gabriel from Lille for £27 million in the previous transfer window but it is understood that manager Mikel Arteta is keen on signing a right-footed central defender as David Luiz, Sokratis and Shkodran Mustafi will be free agents in the summer.
This season, Upamecano has made 16 appearances for RB Leipzig in all competitions. The German side are third in the Bundesliga and have progressed to the Round of 16 of the Champions League where they will face Liverpool.
