Berlin (AFP)

The French international defender of RB Leipzig Dayot Upamecano will play for Bayern Munich next season, announced Friday the sporting director of the Bavarian club Hasan Salihamidzic, as quoted by the daily newspaper Bild.

“I can (confirm), and we're very happy with that,” said Salihamidzic, “we knew we had very strong competition”.

Chelsea was mentioned among the possible destinations of the 22-year-old player, three times already selected for the France team.

He is expected to replace Austria's David Alaba at Bayern, whose departure at the end of the season is certain, while Jérôme Boateng, another central defender, also comes to the end of his contract in June.

The German and European champion club will have to lift the departure clause in the amount of 43 million euros, recalls for its part the magazine Kicker, generally very reliable, which also announces the transfer as final.

RB Leipzig sporting director Markus Krösche, interviewed on Friday night at half-time in the Bundesliga match Leipzig-Augsburg, did not directly confirm: "Basically yes, he has a starting clause and it's not us who have the power of decision ", he was content to let go:" I can not say more, because we have a match of Champions League (against Liverpool editor's note) next week and that it is not necessary not mix everything ".

- "Career vision" -

In Munich, Upamecano will strengthen a very strong French contingent, since six French tricolors are currently playing under the colors of the Rekordmeister: the four internationals Kingsley Coman, Corentin Tolisso, Lucas Hernandez and Benjamin Pavard, as well as the ex-Marseillais Bouna Sarr and the youngster 18-year-old talent trained in Paris SG Tanguy Nianzou.

"Upamecano, Salihamidzic told Bild, is a 22-year-old whose qualities are already extraordinarily developed. I was always convinced that we had an interesting proposition for him: we presented him our vision of his career at Bayern. . "

"Last week in Doha I spoke again with all stakeholders. At the end of a long process, the player, his family and the management were convinced that FC Bayern was the right partner for him," said he added.

The young man trained at RB Salzburg before arriving in Leipzig in 2017 is indeed preparing to join the current best club in the world, which has just won in Qatar on Thursday evening the World Club Cup, sixth trophy in less than one year after the cup-championship-Champions League treble and the two super cups in Germany and Europe.

He will quickly have a chance to impose himself.

With the departures of Boateng and Alaba, only German international Niklas Süle and French world champion Lucas Hernandez will remain at Bayern as job specialists.

Tanguy Nianzou, at 18, has not yet been able to claim an incumbent position.

© 2021 AFP