Chelsea make contact with RB Leipzig star Dayot Upamecano
According to German publication Kicker (h/t The Mirror), Chelsea are in touch with RB Leipzig star Dayot Upamecano over a potential summer transfer.
The 22-year-old is amongst the best young centre-backs in world football. He has also attracted attention from Manchester United and Liverpool.
The Red Devils were seen to be in pole position after reports emerged of them willing to pay £55million to secure Upamecano’s services in January. However, with them yet to do so, the Blues have an opening they can exploit.
Upamecano signed a new contract with Leipzig only last summer. The defender has a rather reasonable £38million release clause, making him a potential bargain signing.
With the Blues needing a revamp of their centre-back options, there are few names out there who represent better value for money and talent than Upamecano.
Of the players at the club, Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger have fallen down the pecking order this season. Thiago Silva is not a long-term option, while Fikayo Tomori also found himself out of favour before being loaned out.
With Thomas Tuchel set to take the Chelsea hotseat, a new era is underway at Stamford Bridge.
The German manager spent a number of years in the Bundesliga and will not be ignorant of Upamecano’s ability. A master tactician, Tuchel could help the Frenchman scale bigger heights in his career.
Whether we can indeed trump our rivals to the player remains to be seen.
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Chelsea are no strangers to shopping in the Bundesliga. In recent windows, the club has brought in Christian Pulisic, Kai Havertz and Timo Werner. Whether Upamecano will also join that list remains to be seen.