Dayot Upamecano. Chelsea’s new centre-back?

[Thread]

Today, it’s been reported by several reliable journalists that either Chelsea, Liverpool or Bayern Munich will be the final destination for the 22 year old.

That in itself should be a massive indicator. If clubs like that are interested, it’s a testament to his regard.

It’s with good reason, too.

A young, fairly experienced, gifted defender with a release clause somewhere in the region of £40 million. It’s only sensible that the top clubs are all over that, battling it out to nail the signature.

Let’s discuss Upamecano’s strengths and weaknesses:

Strengths.
- Strong, powerful ball-playing defender.
- Freakishly fast for his position.
- Exceptional reader of the game.
- Incredibly cool, calm and collected.
- Proactive defensively.

Weaknesses.
- Often exceedingly aggressive.
- Sometimes caught out of possession, whilst trying to anticipate the play.
- Risk taker, sometimes leaves the backline quite wide open.
- Commits a lot of fouls, which can be costly.

The game is forever developing and transitioning, with players having to alter their respective styles to adapt.

A key requirement of the modern day defender, is the technical and proactive ability. Without question, Upamecano comfortably ticks these boxes.

This is an integral element to Dayot’s arsenal of qualities.

Under Leipzig head coach, Julian Nagelsmann - he’s frequently deployed as the defender of a three. This fully enables him to initiate any progression, pulling the strings from deeper situated areas.

Let’s discuss his distribution numbers.

So far in the 2020/21 campaign, Upamecano registers around 76 passes per game, completing at a tidy and efficient rate of 87.4%. Additionally, he plays an average of 6.5 long balls per game, showcasing further is progressiveness.

Talk about an absolute clinic of an all-rounded display, check out this clip of Upamecano against Atletico Madrid in the 2019/20 Champions League campaign.

Cool, calm and collected. Outstanding.

Bringing a variety of superb technicality alone, doesn’t transpire to an excellent defender.

Fortunately for Upamecano, he has the physique to go with it. Athletically blessed, imposing and freakish strength. It’s quite simple. Upamecano is one heck of an athlete.

It certainly correlates to his ability.

He’s very proactive, excelling within off the ball situations. Upamecano possesses great awareness and footballing intelligence, despite his tender age. Of course, his athleticism helps his case - allowing to make recoveries.

An incoming counter-attack from the opposition activates Dayot’s proactive approach.

To help reduce the threat, he engages with the ball-carrier. This has two outcomes. It either restricts the danger of the attack, or Upamecano’s tenacious nature concedes a foul.

This can be clearly seen by his numbers in that regard.

This season in the Bundesliga, he’s applied a total of 166 pressures, 64 of them being successful at a 38.6% rate. Many of them are engaged within the middle third, highlighting his proactive mentality to stop the counter.

This eagerness can be demonstrated by the image below, as he challenges Neymar just on the edge of the centre circle.

The gap is left open, giving Neymar the opportunity to pick the right pass. Thankfully for Dayot, he uses his pure strength to nick the ball away.

Statistically speaking, Upamecano’s defensive actions are very pleasing.

This season so far, he’s managed to make a total of 57 tackles and interceptions, combined. As well, he’s made 66 clearances whilst defending Leipzig’s own box.

However, in terms of defensive actions, their is quite a glaring weakness of his developing game.

Leipzig’s high press and line, it often leaves Upamecano relatively isolated within 1 on 1 situations. This is something I’m sure the opposition keep in their conscience.

His lacklustre decision making and weak body positioning can be a flaw when defending in these scenarios.

The intentions are glaring - engage as quickly as possible, use his exceptional physical presence to prevent the attacker from causing any danger.

To conclude on Upamecano, I’m glad I’ve gathered more information on him.

In recent tweets, I feel I’ve been way too irrational when talking about him. All things gathered - 22 years of age, immense qualities, £40 million release clause. Think this could be an excellent buy.

I feel his physique allows him to be pretty much tailor-made for the Premier League.

I can’t see that becoming a barrier, to go along with his ability to adapt. No matter what, there’s a reason he’s the most sought after defender in world football. Man, he is a talent.

Here is an awesome Upamecano edit in Chelsea colours.

Edited by @cfc_nate_ - make sure you drop him a follow!

End of thread.

If you’ve come all this way, thank you so much for taking the time to read! It really, really does mean a lot. I hope it was informative.

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