Dayot Upamecano Transfer Update: French Defender Set To Join Bayern Munich – Report

KEY POINTS

Dayot Upamecano is headed to Allianz Arena, Bayern's sporting director confirms
Upamecano will take the place of David Alaba
Bayern beat Chelsea and Liverpool for Upamecano's signature

The race for Dayot Upamecano appears to have come to an end. Bayern Munich's sporting director confirmed they have agreed a deal to sign the 22-year-old French defender from RB Leipzig, beating other clubs interested in Upamecano, particularly Chelsea and Liverpool.

"I can, and we are very happy about that at FC Bayern,” Bayern Munich sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic told German publication Bild after he was asked to confirm if an agreement had been reached.

"We had very good, intensive and professional discussions with Dayot and his agent Volker Struth over many months. We knew that we had very strong competition," he added.

Bayern will activate the $52 million release clause of Upamecano from RB Leipzig, Sky Germany reported. The 22-year-old will then sign a five-year deal to play at Allianz Arena. He is expected to replace David Alaba, someone whose contract will run out this summer.

Alaba is set to move to Real Madrid once his current deal ends on June 30. He agreed to a four-year deal to join Los Blancos for nearly €11 million ($13 million) per year, Marca reported last month.

Alaba had nearly the same set of suitors as Upamecano. Aside from the Blues and the Reds, other clubs who were trying to get the 28-year-old to their side included Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain.

This came up after Bayern offered several deals that Alaba turned down. Talks ended in November, according to club chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.

"We did all we could to reach an agreement, he just had to accept, but it didn't work out," the Bayern CEO stated.

Regardless, his departure is now moot with Der FCB getting an able replacement. Upamecano is not expected to arrive until the summer, possibly around the time Alaba’s deal expires.

As mentioned in a previous report, Stamford Bridge could have been an ideal landing spot for Upamecano. Thomas Tuchel could have used someone like Upamecano, but all that is now moot. The Blues manager preferred to stay mum on his plans out of respect for teams like RB Leipzig.