How Real Madrid could end up signing Upamecano next season
FT Desk
- 22 Mar 2022 16:20 GMT
- 8 min read
Real Madrid’s humiliating 4-0 defeat to Barcelona in Sunday’s El Clasico underlined just how much work still needs to be done to Carlo Anclotti’s team this summer.
Although the recent victory over Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League showcased how much quality attacking players like Karim Benzema and Luka Modric still have, Los Blancos are still far from ideal in defence.
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As such, while the world debates whether or not the Spanish giants can afford to sign Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland in a single transfer window, the reality of the matter is that Madrid will likely need to buy a number of defensive players ahead of next season.
And, according to reports in France, they may already have their eye on one player in particular to plug a number of holes in defence.
Madrid chasing Upamecano
According to French broadcaster Le10Sport, the Spanish giants have turned their attention to none other than Bayern Munich defender Dayor Upamecano.
The young France international is widely regarded to be one of the most promising defenders in European football and made the move to Bayern last year, when the Bavarian giants triggered Upamecano’s RB Leipzig minimum-fee release clause of around €42 million.
However, now less than a year after making the move to Munich, Upamecano could now find himself on a flight to Madrid if the Spanish giants get their way. But why would Los Blancos target a player that has only just made the move to another huge club?
Could Bayern sell Upamecano this summer?
Although Upamecano is still only 23 years old, there’s no denying that the young player has struggled to live up to the billing in Munich since joining from RB Leipzig.
The player has made a number of high-profile mistakes in big games for Bayern and has often found himself dropped to the substitute bench. Which is all the more gruelling considering that his current head coach is the very same one that he had in Leipzig, in Julian Nageslmann.
Indeed, the player’s struggles can perhaps be best summed up by the fact that his value shortly after his move to Bayern shot up to €67.1m but has since fallen down to €58.8m and will likely continue falling unless he can get a handle on his form.
And that is perhaps where Madrid may come in. Instead of hoping Upamecano will turn things around, Bayern may be tempted to cash in on the defender if the Spanish giants can offer Bayern the chance to recoup the cash they spent on him last summer.
The German giants get to bring in another target, while Madrid can sign up a player with bags of potential and still plenty of time to prove his worth. Which may end up working for all parties involved, next season.
