Arsenal on red alert as Dayot Upamecano ‘decides to QUIT RB Leipzig with £55m defender ready to force transfer exit’
ARSENAL have been put on red alert after Dayot Upamecano revealed he is ready to hand in a transfer request in a bid to force through a transfer.
The French defender, 21, has a £55million release clause in his contract and could leave if any club matches that fee.
Arsenal are just one club to have registered an interest in the promising centre-back in recent months.
But they face competition from North London rivals Tottenham - as well as Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
Bild have now suggested the player will do whatever he has to in order to take the next step in his career.
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The Gunners had been priced out of a move earlier this season, with Upamecano's release clause then £72m.
But that number drops by £17m each season and will now be as low as £55m in the summer.
Mikel Arteta knows he must work hard in the upcoming window to bolster his defensive ranks.
Shkodran Mustafi and David Luiz have been error-prone this term, while Sokratis Papastathopoulos has failed to nail down a spot in the starting XI.
Rob Holding and Calum Chambers have been thwarted by injuries all year, while Pablo Mari is yet to fully settle in following his January switch.
And Upamecano has long been the No1 target, under both Arteta and his predecessor Unai Emery.
The 14-cap France Under-21s star has played 29 times for Leipzig this season, showing a fiery edge having received eight bookings.