Arsenal have received a blow in their pursuit of Dayot Upamecano with the French defender said to favour a move to Bayern Munich during this summer’s transfer window.
The Gunners have been long-term admirers of the RB Leipzig centre-back and they were credited with an interest in signing him last summer, although a deal did not materialise.
Still, they have been regularly mentioned as contenders to sign the central defender but it appears that the 21-year-old has no ambition of leaving the Bundesliga anytime soon.
According to French outlet SoccerLink, Upamecano is aware of the Premier League interest from the likes of Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City but he has no plans of joining one of them.
The same outlet claims that Bayern remain his ideal destination and he has already agreed personal terms with the German champions ahead of a potential transfer during the summer.
Upamecano currently has a £53m release clause on his contract but Bayern have been fancied to sign him for a much lesser fee with the Frenchman’s deal due to expire in just over 14 months’ time.
Meanwhile, the Gunners have experienced a tough season in the Premier League and they are currently placed ninth on the table with an eight-point gap to the top-four places.
Champions League qualification seems a distant target at the moment and they could miss out on the competition for the fourth season on the bounce.
In this case, Mikel Arteta may have to work on a limited budget for the summer which may be hampered further by the financial difficulties due to the coronavirus outbreak.
As such, the club could be dealing with smart buys rather than big-money deals and they have recently been linked with the likes of Unai Nunez and Axel Disasi to strengthen their central defence.
Elsewhere, On-loan star Pablo Mari could be signed on a permanent deal from Flamengo as he happens to suit Arteta’s requirement for a left-footed central defender in the starting XI.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com
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