Bengaluru, April 11: Barcelona have twice broken their club record transfer fees to sign Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool and Ousmane Dembele from Borussia Dortmund in the past two windows. They could once again go all out to sign another player, this time a defender, in the upcoming summer. In a recent transfer rumour, Barcelona are now ready to launch yet another €100mn offer for 19-year-old Frenchman Dayot Upamecano.
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The teenager currently plays in the Bundesliga with RB Leipzig and is a potential summer target for the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal, AC Milan and Bayern Munich. But the Catalans are ready to beat other clubs to him with a massive €100mn bid that can neither be matched by any of these clubs nor be rejected by the German outfit.
Téléfoot:
— ᵁᴸᵀᴿᴬ® (@UltraAutistic) April 9, 2018
Barcelona are willing to pay up to €100m for French centre-back Dayot Upamecano (19). The club wants to reinforce at the back. pic.twitter.com/n7SJQcVd77
With the departure of Javier Mascherano and the uncertain future of Samuel Umtiti, Barcelona are in desperate need to sign a defensive-minded player. Although Barcelona roped in Yarry Mina in January, the deal with Gremio’s Arthur means Mina will most probably leave on a loan move elsewhere. This leaves Barcelona with only Thomas Vermaelen as a second central defender. Considering his susceptibility to injuries and the loss of regular playing time, he is definitely not a long-time successor to Gerard Pique at the center-back position.
According to reports from French outlet Telefoot, Upamecano was one of the names on Barcelona's short-list of defenders previously reported. The French media outlet reports that Barcelona are willing to pay up to 100 million euros to take the Frenchman.
Dayot Upamecano (RB Leipzig defender): "As a youngster, you dream of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester United, but to get there, you have to work."
— Spectating Madrid (@Spectate_Madrid) April 9, 2018
"I'm very proud of myself, very happy. I have to keep going in the same direction. I have to aim higher." pic.twitter.com/yplKBnS3HD
Upamecano arrived at RB Leizpig from RB Salzburg in January 2017 for €10 million and has evolved his game to the point that he's seen as one of the most impressive center halves in the Bundesliga. This season, the defender has played 35 matches in all competitions (Bundesliga, Champions League group stage, Europa League knock-out and German Cup) and has established himself as one of the first names on Ralph Hasenhüttl's teamsheet.
“When you’re young, you dream of Real Madrid, Barcelona or Manchester United,” he admitted to TF1’s 'Telefoot’ programme. “But to get there, you have to work.
“I’m proud of myself, very happy. I have to continue in this manner. Then I can look higher. For the moment, my preference is Leipzig. After that, we’ll see.”