Ever since he was at Valenciennes, Dayotchanculle Oswald Upamecano has been targeted by some of the biggest clubs in Europe.
The young Frenchman decided against an early big move, preferring the likes of RB Salzburg as his next step rather than, let’s say, Arsenal.
From there, the defender moved on to RB Leipzig, where he is currently contracted until the end of next season.
He has impressed hugely for the German club, and is one of the main reasons why they are currently second in the Bundesliga, one point behind Bayern Munich.
However, not a week goes by without his future being discussed somewhere in the European press, which the player has taken notice of, aware that many clubs are after his services.
Speaking to Foot Mercato, he said: “I’m happy at Leipzig. I like my teammates, the staff and my club. For now, I’m still under contract until 2021. I have a duty to continue to train well and do my games.
Following that, the 21-year-old was asked if it was flattering to be linked to big clubs like Barcelona, Bayern Munich or even Arsenal.
He replied: “Of course, but as I’ve said, I’m at Leipzig and I want to reach my goals with the club. I don’t want to talk about anything else at the moment. I want to finish the season with Leipzig and nothing else”.
The most recent article we covered on Arsenal’s interest in Upamecano dates back to February 12th when Bild explained the Gunners were ‘still want’ the centre-back and the Premier League remained the player’s ‘dream destination’.
With his contract expiring when it does, next summer could be the prime time for a transfer, meaning this could end up being one of the sagas of the summer.
However, whether Arsenal will be involved remain to be seen, as their current situation leaves a lot to be desired, as they were knocked out of the Europa League by Olympiakos on Thursday night and sit ninth in the Premier League, albeit only three points behind sixth placed Tottenham.
If they were to miss out on European entirely, it wouldn’t be surprising if Upamecano looked elsewhere for his move to England.
