Dayot Upamecano has been discussing his decision to leave RB Leipzig for Bayern Munich, with the French defender shunning interest from the Premier League.
The 22-year-old centre-half will be playing with the Bundesliga champions next season, after a €42.5 million (£37m/$52m) deal was agreed with RB Leipzig.
Various options were open to Upamecano, with Manchester United and Liverpool said to be interested, but he sees German football as being the best place for his immediate and long-term future.
What has been said?
Revealing why he settled on a switch to Bayern, Upamecano told Sportbuzzer: "I was sure relatively quickly that I wanted to stay in Germany and in the Bundesliga. I like it here, the level of the games, the fans, the stadiums.
"When FC Bayern gets in touch, you are really proud. It doesn’t get much higher, especially when you’ve played in Leipzig before."
The bigger picture
Upamecano's adaptation to life in Munich should be made easier by the presence of a familiar face alongside him.
Julian Nagelsmann is preparing to make his own switch from Leipzig to Munich, with the 33-year-old being appointed as successor to the outgoing Hansi Flick.
Upamecano added on working with one of the most sought-after young coaches in world football: "He’s a great trainer. We’re not thinking about the next season now, we’re all thinking about this one, and we want to win the cup against Dortmund and top our best performance from the 2016-2017 season."
Leipzig booked their place in the DFB-Pokal final with a 2-1 win over Werder Bremen, meaning that they will get a shot at major silverware when facing Dortmund on May 13.
Further reading
- Bayern president refutes claims of €25m fee for Nagelsmann
- Germany FA set to open talks with Flick over national team job
- Lewandowski excited by appointment of Nagelsmann as Bayern boss