Zinedine Zidane has told Real Madrid that the central defender he would like to add to his squad is Dayot Upamecano from RB Leipzig.
It is said by Diario AS that Zidane sees the 21-year-old as an ideal alternative to either Sergio Ramos or Raphael Varane, with question marks over the future of Eder Militao.
Upamecano is said to be one of the brightest prospects in football with a long list of elite clubs linked to his signature and he has been instrumental in RB Leipzig’s rise to prominence in recent years.
In February, El Mundo Deportivo linked Barcelona with a move while a recent report in the Daily Mirror claimed that he is on the shortlist of English Premier League champions Manchester City, who are in desperate need to bolster their defence this summer.
The central defender is one of the main reasons why RB Leipzig are in the thick of a title race in the Bundesliga this season and into the quarter-finals of the Champions League, were they comfortably eliminated Tottenham.
“As I said, first I focus on RB Leipzig and then about what I intend to do, but there are clubs that love me,” Upamecano is cited as saying by El Mundo Deportivo in February.
“I will speak well with my agents and my parents at the end of the season. And we will make the right decision.”
Upamecano joined Leipzig from RB Salzburg in January 2017 and has grown into an influential player since.
The defender, who has been capped at Under-21 level by France, told Telefoot in 2018: “When I was younger I dreamed of playing for Real Madrid, Barcelona or Manchester United.
“To get to that level you have to do a lot of work to be recognised and I hope to keep going in the same direction I have been.
“My achievements so far make me proud and I want to keep moving in the same direction – right now I am with Leipzig but hopefully I have a long future ahead of me.”
