Bayern Munich won the race to sign central defender Dayot Upamecano this summer but not everything has gone to plan for the French international.
Upamecano joined Bayern from Bundesliga rivals RB Leipzig last year and explained his decision to stay in the Bundesliga while rejecting interest from Premier League giants.
Manchester United and Liverpool were both linked with a move for the defender, with the latter signing his former Leipzig defensive partner Ibrahima Konate last year.
The 23-year-old has been tipped to become one of the best defenders in the game after a fine few seasons at Leipzig and has become a mainstay in the heart of Julian Nagelsmann’s defence this campaign.
The defender swapping Leipzig for Munich was the same path travelled by Nagelsmann this summer but the coach has now publicly criticised Upamecano’s role in Sunday’s victory at Hertha Berlin.
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The Bundesliga champions were cruising to a comfortable victory as they were four goals ahead with ten minutes remaining before Jurgen Ekkelenkamp pulled a goal back for the hosts.
The goal stemmed from Upamecano playing a loose pass which was intercepted by Dejan Jovetic, whose touch was blocked by Manuel Neuer before Ekkelenkamp was able to lift the ball into the net.
Despite the goal not having any impact on the destination of the points, Nagelsmann was unable to hide his frustration with the central defender after the match.
The Bayern boss specifically criticised the decision-making by Upamecano without mentioning him by name as he questioned his concentration levels.
"That goal was completely avoidable. If I were 95 kilos and very fast, I'd control the ball, dribble another meter or two and see what happens,” Nagelsmann told TV station DAZN after the game.
"At some point, [Steven] Jovetic has to put pressure on the goalkeeper, and you might be able to play the ball to your centre-back partner.
"But you stay on the ball for now. Playing the ball directly coming out of the back and bouncing.... That's always difficult.
"I'm a fan of just doing things with control. There was no big pressure. Just put the ball down and see what the opponent does. It's 4-0, mind you, so you can play a bit more controlled.
"It's not like we have to go forward again extremely quickly or chase a deficit."
Upamecano spent four-and-a-half seasons in the Bundesliga with Leipzig prior to joining Bayern last year, opting to reject Premier League interest.
“I was sure relatively quickly that I wanted to stay in Germany and in the Bundesliga,” the defender said at the time.
“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.”
Bayern Munich remain six points clear ahead of second-placed Borussia Dortmund at the top of the Bundesliga.
