Liverpool are interested in Bayern Munich’s Dayot Upamecano, whose contract expires in June 2026.
According to sources in Germany, the defender is stalling on signing a new contract to open up a move.
What the reports in Germany say
Florian Plettenberg spoke on the Sky Sports Germany Bayern Munich Podcast on the current contract situation of Dayot Upamecano.
He said, “Everyone [at Bayern] is waiting for his commitment, his signature. His contract is ready. But Bayern Munich will not improve their offer.”
This situation puts the French defender in a position of power, as he would become a free agent.
Plettenberg went on to say, “My opinion is he’s waiting for Liverpool, for Real Madrid. Liverpool are interested in Upamecano, we can confirm that.”
What is Liverpool’s centre-back situation?
Liverpool are very short on centre-back depth, particularly due to injury in this current period. Virgil Van Dijk hasn’t been the same player that he had been in previous seasons.
Ibrahima Konate is in a similar situation to Upamecano. He is in the final six months of his contract, and there are no reports that a deal is close to completion.
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Konate and Upamecano are teammates at the international level, but also broke onto the world stage at Leipzig at similar times. Signing Upamecano could either be a replacement for Konate in a similar style or could be a tactic to retain the defender.
Giovanni Leoni signed for Liverpool in the summer and looked good in his first start in the Carabao Cup, but an ACL injury in that game has not allowed his talent to show.
Liverpool sold Jarrel Quansah in the summer and decided to hold onto Joe Gomez after a deal for Marc Guehi fell through at the last minute.
Upamecano’s style and career
Upamecano joined the Red Bull system at the age of 17 after a few years in the Valenciennes academy. He started at RB Salzburg and after a productive spell in Austria, he moved to RB Leipzig.
He played over 150 times for Leipzig. As a result of his form, he made his France debut in 2020.
His talent, speed and solidity at the back earned him a move to Bayern Munich. Bayern paid the release clause to Leipzig of roughly £40 million.
Upamecano won three Bundesliga titles and could be set for a fourth this year. The French centre-back came under a lot of criticism in the season where Bayern failed to win the league, especially during the period in February that year, when he got sent off twice in four days in both the league and Champions League.
However, the Frenchman has enjoyed his spell under Vincent Kompany, where he regained his form.
