Red Bull Salzburg defender and Arsenal target Dayot Upamecano does not want to move to North London and fancies to join forces with Luis Enrique at Barcelona.
According to Sport (h/t Anthony Chapman of the Sun), Salzburg’s centre-back Dayot Upamecano has turned down an offer from Arsenal as he is holding out for a dream move to Barcelona. Manchester City are another side rumoured to be in the hunt for the French prodigy.
Upamecano, 17, is set to part ways with the Austrian club in the summer and his spirited performances with them has seen him draw interest from a number of top European clubs. Arsenal are known to be suitors for the French defender, and have reportedly seen a bid rejected as the player does not fancy a move to North London.
Arsene Wenger roped in two centre-backs in Shkodran Mustafi and Rob Holding. Due to an extended summer hiatus, Koscielny missed the first two weeks of the season and was replaced by Holding. The young English defender looked all over the place on his Premier League debut against Liverpool but improved in the following game against Leicester City.
Mustafi’s signing saw him take the place of Holding, and together with Koscielny, the duo have formed an immaculate pairing at the heart of the defence. With Per Mertesacker on a long term injury and Calum Chambers away on loan at Middlesbrough, Arsenal could have done with a signing of Upamecano’s calibre.
The player’s growing interest in Barcelona could see manager Luis Enrique come in with an offer for him at the end of the season. The Spanish side will be looking to add youth to their defence as Javier Mascherano and Gerard Pique have shown signs of slowing down.
Samuel Umtiti was signed in the summer by the Catalan side, and could be a good mentor to his compatriot Upamecano, should Barca decided to bring in the French defender.
As of now, the youngster’s focus is on Red Bull Salzburg as he hopes to win the Austrian Football Bundesliga with them. With 34 points from 18 games this season, Die Rotten Bullen find themselves five points adrift of Altach at the top of the table.
