Liverpool offered the chance to sign Bayern Munich star | OneFootball

Dayot Upamecano Offered to Liverpool as January Dilemma Looms

Liverpool head into the January transfer window with clarity around one priority and growing intrigue around one name. According to reporting credited to TZ, Dayot Upamecano has been directly offered to Liverpool, placing the club at the centre of a high stakes defensive market just months before the summer contract cycle reshapes Europe’s elite.

Defensive depth under scrutiny

Liverpool’s plans last summer did not unfold as intended. The pursuit of Marc Guehi appeared advanced before Crystal Palace pulled the plug late on, leaving recruitment teams to recalibrate. Matters worsened when Giovanni Leoni was ruled out for the season with a serious knee injury.

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That sequence has left Liverpool with three senior centre backs. Joe Gomez’s fitness record and his frequent redeployment to right back have stretched options further. In practical terms, this means Liverpool are operating with fine margins in a campaign that still demands domestic and European consistency.

Contract impasse creates opportunity

Upamecano’s situation at Bayern Munich has reached a critical point. Out of contract in the summer, he is seeking €18m per year, with €16m as a base salary, alongside a €65m release clause. Bayern are reluctant on both counts.

TZ report that this stalemate has opened the door for Liverpool and others. Paris Saint Germain and Real Madrid are also tracking centre back options closely.

Upamecano’s form for Bayern and France has only strengthened his hand. He knows his value and his demands reflect that confidence.

Strategic fit at Anfield

For Liverpool, the decision is layered. Upamecano would arrive as a proven Champions League level defender, physically dominant and comfortable in a high line. He also shares international and club history with Ibrahima Konate, a factor not lost on analysts assessing dressing room integration.

However, committing to wages of this scale would mark a shift. Liverpool’s hierarchy must decide whether January action outweighs the benefits of waiting for broader summer clarity, especially with Konate’s own contract situation unresolved.

What is clear is that Upamecano feels like the standout option in a thin market. Someone will miss out. Liverpool must decide whether that someone is them.

Our View – Anfield Index Analysis

From a Liverpool supporter’s perspective, this report lands right in the middle of an ongoing debate about ambition versus discipline. Upamecano being offered to Liverpool feels significant, not just because of his quality, but because opportunities like this rarely arrive neatly packaged.

There is excitement here. A defender of his calibre, entering his prime, with experience at Bayern and on the biggest European nights, instantly raises the floor and the ceiling. 

Yet there is understandable hesitation. €18m per year is a statement commitment. Liverpool fans have seen the club thrive by resisting market inflation rather than chasing it. The worry is precedent. If you break the structure for one, what follows when others knock on the door?

Supporters will likely ask whether waiting until summer risks repeating past lessons. Injuries rarely announce themselves politely. If the club truly believe Upamecano is the one, then acting decisively could be the difference between control and vulnerability in the second half of the season.

This feels like a crossroads decision, one that tells us as much about Liverpool’s next phase as it does about one defender.