Liverpool have been linked with Dayot Upamecano in recent months, but it’s looking increasingly unlikely that the Bayern Munich defender will join the Reds in 2026.
With sporting director Richard Hughes understood to be prioritising a centre-back addition in January (CaughtOffside), the France international is believed to be among a five-man shortlist of prospective options for LFC in the winter market.
At present, he’s set to become a free agent when his contract expires next June, but a reliable German insider has indicated that the 27-year-old could stay put at the Allianz Arena.
What’s the latest on Upamecano and Bayern?
Speaking to CF Bayern Insider about Upamecano, Christian Falk said: “First of all, Bayern Munich. The Bundesliga champions are a little bit confident that they will get the centre-half to sign a new contract.
“However, failing that, there are two clubs that interest Upamecano – otherwise, no Premier League clubs are on the list – and these are Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain. Both outfits are interested in the 27-year-old because he’s currently on track to be a free agent next year.”
A report by BBC Sport on Tuesday also claimed that the Frenchman is in ‘advanced talks’ over a new deal at Bayern.
Liverpool may need to move on from Upamecano
From Falk’s update, we can establish that there’s a strong chance of Upamecano extending his stay in Munich; and even if he were to leave next summer, it appears that Liverpool aren’t in the running to sign him.
That’ll undoubtedly come as a disappointment to the Anfield hierarchy, partly because of the sparsity of squad depth at centre-back and partly because of what the 27-year-old could’ve offered to Arne Slot’s side.
As illustrated in the chart below (citing figures from FBref), the France international ranks among the best players in his position in Europe’s five main leagues over the past year for a number of metrics, particularly those of a ball-playing variety.
| Per 90 minutes | Percentile among positional peers | |
| Passes attempted | 85.48 | 99th (top 1%) |
| Pass completion | 93% | 95th |
| Progressive passes | 6.19 | 95th |
| Shot-creating actions | 1.21 | 80th |
| Non-penalty goals | 0.08 | 78th |
| Tackles | 1.86 | 77th |
| Interceptions | 1.33 | 76th |
With Upamecano seemingly poised to sign a new deal at Bayern, and Liverpool not thought to be among the clubs waiting to pounce on any hiccups at the Allianz Arena, it looks as though Hughes will need to focus his efforts on alternative targets, most notably Marc Guehi.
The Athletic‘s Gregg Evans reported today that a January move to Anfield for the Crystal Palace captain is unlikely, but the LFC hierarchy can’t afford to allow too many more primary transfer targets to fall by the wayside, particularly given the need to bolster their centre-back options when they’re getting the opportunity to do so.
You can watch Slot’s full pre-Sunderland press conference below, via Empire of the Kop on YouTube:
Source link
Add Comment