Frank Lampard has set his sights on RB Leipzig’s Dayot Upamecano as a defensive reinforcement for the Blues in the summer. The highly-rated French center-back is also being chased by Arsenal FC over the past one year.
Chelsea FC have joined their Premier League rivals Arsenal FC in the race to sign Upamecano. The 21-year old Leipzig star has been reported to be persistent on leaving the Bundesliga side in the summer. Lampard is wanting to add a more reliable central defender to his squad and Upamecano fits the bill.
The 21-year old Frenchman has a release clause worth £50million in his current contract with RB Leipzig. Such an amount may be a reasonable sum for the Blues to sign the player. Chelsea FC recently conducted business with Upamecano’s side, RB Leipzig, having signed Timo Werner a few weeks back.
Although Arsenal FC has been pursuing Upamecano’s transfer since a long time, Chelsea FC may hijack the Gunner’s approach, similar to what the Blues did to Liverpool FC over Werner. Frank Lampard would be keen on finalizing a move for the young defender to bolster his side’s defensive options.
Upamecano had refused to comment on his RB Leipzig future in an interview recently. The French starlet had claimed that he would make a decision at the end of the 2019-20 season regarding his future playing destination. Moreover, Upamecano said that his decision would be influenced by the advice of his parents as well as his agent.
The player was subject to interest from Arsenal earlier this year too in the January transfer window. However, Leipzig had refused to let their star player depart for a fee of less than £70 million. Such a hefty asking price for Upamecano had led to Gunners manager Mikel Arteta look elsewhere for alternatives.
Besides Chelsea FC and Arsenal FC, a host of other top teams are also interested in signing Upamecano. FC Barcelona and Bayern Munich have expressed interest in securing Upamecano’s signature in the past as well.
