Dayot Upamecano & Ibrahima Konate
v.li.: Ibrahima Konate (RB Leipzig, 6), Reinhold Yabo (Salzburg, 7), Dayot Upamecano (RB Leipzig, 5); Aktion, action

Dayot Upamecano is currently one of the most sought after central defenders in European football and Arsenal are one of the clubs interested in signing him – as per reports.

The centre-back joined RB Leipzig in 2017 from Salzburg and since then, he’s been a key figure at the back for the Bundesliga side. This season he has already featured in 21 league matches for the German side having provided one assist.

And with such a fine run of form under his belt, there have been rumours of his exit during the summer transfer window and Arsenal along with Bayern Munich are the favourites to land the defender.

Dayot Upamecano has a €60 million release clause in his current deal with Leipzig and according to German newspaper Bild, the 21-year-old has already agreed to join Bavarian giants Bayern Munich.

Have Arsenal missed out on Dayot Upamecano?

If this report is true then it surely is a big blow for Mikel Arteta and his plans to bring in a new centre-back for the new season but this news does not tell the whole truth, unfortunately.

While Dayot Upamecano is believed to have agreed on a deal to join Bayern Munich but the Germans are not too keen to pay such a steep price for the player which means the deal is yet to be wrapped up.

Leipzig have to sell the player this summer or risk losing him for free next year but Leipzig CEO Oliver Mintzlaff has made it clear that they will only part ways with Upamecano if they receive the right price in his exchange.

This means, Arsenal still have a fair chance of signing the player at the end of the season but the release clause can also be a problem for the Gunners.

Arsenal will not return to the Champions League next season meaning they will have to work on a meagre transfer budget. And in such a scenario, spending €60 million on one defender will be a bit too much for Mikel Arteta.

Also, there’s a rumour that the release clause of €60 million will go up significantly if a team outside the Bundesliga wanted to sign him during the summer.

The Gunners are looking at other alternatives as well but Dayot Upamecano is undoubtedly at the top of their transfer wishlist and if they can sign the 21-year-old, he has the potential to form a really solid partnership with someone like William Saliba or Pablo Mari.

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