BEVERLY HILLS, February 13, (THEWILL) – Bavarian giants and World champions Bayern Munich have added another feather to their cap by winning the intense race to sign the dependable defender Dayot Upamecano.
Hasan Salihamidzic, Bayern’s Sporting Director, confirmed that a deal had been struck to sign the defender from RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga.
Upamecano has seen his stock rise with his steady progress to becoming one of the most highly-rated defenders in Europe, a quality that attracted attention with the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United holding an interest in a player with a release clause of €42.5 million.
As a club on the lookout for a new defensive option with first squad defender David Alaba set to leave the club when his contract expires in the summer, the Bundesliga champions had not only kept up with Upamecano’s progress but reached out to attract him to Munich.
They confirmed their interest in January when club CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge came out publicly to attest that Upamecano was a player they were seriously considering. With that, Bayern became favourites to sign the centre back. Salihamidzic’s comments mean they had gone ahead to make a deal with the 22-year-old France international.
Speaking with German tabloid newspaper Bild on Friday, Salihamidzic revealed that a deal had been struck. He said Upamecano will move to the Allianz Arena on a five-year contract, according to the agreement of all parties involved.
Salihamidzic said: “I can confirm that Dayot Upamecano will join FC Bayern. We had very good, intense and professional discussions over many months. At the end of a long process the player, family and management were convinced that FC Bayern is the right partner for the future.”
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Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
