[ad_1]
Soon-to-be Bayern Munich defender Dayot Upamecano says that he always wanted to stay in Germany, amid Manchester United and Liverpool links.
The France international emerged last season as one of Europe’s most coveted young centre-backs. This season, though, speculation over the 22-year-old’s future ramped up amid more impressive performances. As such, reports claimed that Liverpool and United both wanted to sign the player.
However, Bayern surprised their rivals in February by announcing Upamecano’s capture from next season.
The defender has signed a five-year agreement with the German giants.
Speaking to Sport Buzzer, though, Upamecano revealed that he never took interest from elsewhere in Europe too seriously.
“I was sure relatively quickly that I wanted to stay in Germany and in the Bundesliga,” he said.
“I like it here, the level of the games, the fans, the stadiums.
“When FC Bayern gets in touch, you are really proud. It doesn’t get much higher, especially when you’ve played in Leipzig before.”
In an interesting recent development, Leipzig boss Julian Nagelsmann will follow Upamecano to Bayern.
The 33-year-old reportedly featured on Tottenham’s list of candidates to succeed Jose Mourinho. However, like Upamecano, he picked a lucrative move across Germany.
“He’s a great trainer,’ Upamecano said of Nagelsmann.
Subscribe for free to TEAMtalk’s daily newsletter…
“We’re not thinking about the next season now, we’re all thinking about this one.
“And we want to win the cup against [Borussia] Dortmund and top our best performance from the 2016/2017 season.”
While Leipzig will contest the German cup final with Dortmund later this month, Bayern have streaked clear of Die Roten Bullen at the top of the Bundesliga table.
Man Utd, Liverpool transfer links continue
Meanwhile, United and Liverpool‘s links to a swoop for a new centre-back have continued after they missed out on Upamecano.
The Red Devils reportedly have Villarreal’s Pau Torres on their radar and want to sign the Spaniard before Euro 2020 begins.
Liverpool, meanwhile, are supposedly close to landing Upamecano’s Leipzig team-mate, Ibrahima Konate.
The France Under-21 international is looking for a property on Merseyside, reports claim.
READ MORE: Defender target takes Liverpool transfer into own hands, as plans step up
[ad_2]
Source link
