Arsenal are planning another bid for Dayot Upamecano, without increasing the base fee they offered the first time, according to a report.
The S*n claim Arsenal are preparing to make another move for Upamecano, after failing to sign him in the summer. It’s not clear whether they’re going to make their next bid in January or the summer, but the RB Leipzig defender is certainly a target.
The report suggests Arsenal don’t plan to increase their original summer bid for the player though.
According to The S*n, this bid was £40m, but reports from Germany have previously suggested the Gunners offered as much as €60m (£51.82m). Either way, Leipzig turned the deal down.
The reason why Arsenal might believe they can land the player without increasing their offer is that Upamecano is running his contract down. The centre-back only has a deal until 2021, so Leipzig are running out of time to cash in if he doesn’t extend.
If the 20-year-old hits the final year of his deal, there’s a big risk he ends up reaching an agreement to leave for free. It’s hard to argue one season of football would be worth the £40-50m Leipzig would lose as a result of hanging onto him.
At the same time, the highly-rated youngster will attract a lot of interest from around Europe, so Leipzig still have some bargaining power. The saga should develop further over the next few months.