Manchester City register interest in Bayern Munich star out of contract in 2026 | OneFootball

Dayot Upamecano’s contract at Bayern Munich is nearing its conclusion but the interest from Manchester City and other elite European clubs could be disregarded in a major transfer twist, as per a new report.

The FIFA World Cup winner is one of three big names in the centre of defence to be coming to the end of his existing deal alongside Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi and Liverpool’s Ibrahima Konate, with Manchester City likely to approach Bayern Munich for the 27-year-old.

As of late, the City boss has had to rely heavily on Josko Gvardiol and Ruben Dias amid fitness concerns around John Stones and Nathan Ake – a strategy which hasn’t caused many problems just yet but could in due course given how many minutes, and at such frequency, that they are playing. 

The footballing calendar only seems to be intensifying into the New Year as City look ahead to eight games over the next four weeks, though a crucial 2-1 away victory against Real Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday alleviated the pressures of a potential knockout round play-off in that competition.

A prospectively record-breaking number of competitive games this season could mean injuries become more prevalent across the campaign and with City’s defensive depth appearing worryingly slim, additions are certainly not deemed a bad idea. 

With Upamecano’s contract expiring in the summer of 2026, a long-term plan for the defender could already be crystallising amongst City officials despite interest from Premier League rivals Liverpool, Real Madrid and Barcelona. 

Furthermore, the France international – who has played 172 games for Bayern Munich – is seen as someone of potential interest to City’s current sporting director Hugo Viana, according to TEAMtalk. 

Viana replaced the long-standing Txiki Begiristain, who stood as sporting director for 12.5 years, this summer and has already made his ambitions for the club’s short and longer term goals very clear, having orchestrated a major revamp of Guardiola’s squad in his first transfer window in charge at the Etihad Stadium.

This past summer, the eight-time Premier League champions spent around £150 million on the likes of Gianluigi Donnarumma, Rayan Cherki, Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Ait-Nouri, which has paid off thus far. 

Ahead of Sunday’s visit to Selhurst Park, City sit second in the English top-flight and trail Arsenal by just two points after an impressive run has seen the club win eight games in the last 10 times of asking in the Premier League. 

City’s centre-back pairing has rarely been altered by Guardiola in the 2025-26 Premier League campaign so far, with Dias playing a part in all 15 games, including 11 starts, while Gvardiol has started 11 from a possible 12 wherein he has been available.

Obvious signs of a small number of back-up options cast inevitable doubt over the club’s title credentials if someone like Dias or Gvardiol were to get injured – which could tempt Guardiola to scout the 2026 January market. With that, a move for Upamecano will only materialise in the summer on account of several media reports.