Chelsea making serious push for Dayot Upamecano, must battle Bayern Munich — report

Chelsea and Bayern Munich have shared a rivalry in the transfer market more so than on the pitch recently — Callum Hudson-Odoi, Timo Werner, Kai Havertz come to mind, but also Bayern nabbing youngsters Jamal Musiala and Bright-Arrey Mbi from the Chelsea Academy — and that’s set to continue this summer when we’re scheduled to meet on the Dayot Upamecano battlefield.

Chelsea have been recently (and entirely unsurprisingly) linked with the RB Leipzig centre back, and according to German outlet TZ, the Blues are indeed making serious moves with a view towards a summer transfer. With the long-term futures of Antonio Rüdiger, Andreas Christensen and Fikayo Tomori all up in the air, and Thiago Silva not getting any younger, it was only a matter of time before Upamecano entered our rumor radar.

The 22-year-old is one of the best young centre backs in the game, and signing him would certainly be a strong show of intent. Upamecano is said to be flattered by Chelsea’s interest as well, but unfortunately, Bayern are apparently still well ahead in the race since they have been planning this transfer for several years now. (Ed.note: of course, they said the same thing about Werner and Havertz as well!)

CrossBar

Upamecano’s release clause stands at €42m, which shouldn’t be a problem for either club, nor should his potential wages, so the final decision will probably come down to the player’s desire. It would take maximum effort and then some from our end to pry him away from Bayern’s waiting arms, but if anyone deserves to wear the mantle of Thiago Silva’s long-term successor, it’s him.

So, Čech, Lampard, Werner, Zouma, Kanté, Giroud, do your thang!