Dayot Upamecano says he is relishing the opportunity to continue working with Julian Nagelsmann.
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Bayern Munich defender Dayot Upamecano has expressed his eagerness at the opportunity to continue working with Julian Nagelsmann. Upamecano developed under Nagelsmann for two formative years at RB Leipzig. However, he agreed to join the Bundesliga champions in February, with Nagelsmann confirmed as Hansi Flick’s successor as head coach two months later. The pair have been reunited at Bayern’s training complex for the start of pre-season training.
“He’s a great coach, encourages both old and young players and talks to everyone. I’m happy he’s here and I hope we’ll win a lot of games together. Bayern is a big club with world-class players. I want to help the team and play as much as possible. I’m fast and aggressive. I always give 100 percent, no matter what. I’ll give everything for this great club so we can win. It’s cool that a lot of French players are here. I know some guys from the national team, but we’re in Germany. We have to speak German on the pitch,” said Upamecano as quoted by Bundesliga’s official website.
Nagelsmann similarly expressed his appreciation for the 22-year-old French defender.
“I know what his strengths are and what he still has to work on. I’m very confident that he’ll play.”
He further shared his viewpoint on the other members of the squad like Leroy Sane, Joshua Kimmich.
“Leroy’s got outstanding quality. He has incredible pace and is one of the best around in one-v-ones, and incredibly strong in dribbling. I’m not a witch or a magician, but in training, it will all be about showing him the spaces and where he should be, and then I’m convinced we’re going to see a stronger, improved Leroy. I won’t turn everything on its head, but there will be a certain amount of flexibility. I can only support the players, train them well and give them decent instructions and try to show them the right direction, but it is they who then have to take the steps,” stated the former RB Leipzig manager.
Nagelsmann discussed his desire to utilize Kimmich in a central role, elaborating on his style of football.
“Basically, I plan to use him centrally. But I’m still a big fan of having players who can play in different positions. It’s always important to be able to make certain adjustments in the game. But most of the time I plan with him in the control room. I am a young and emotional coach. I’ve always been pretty loud on the sideline and I don’t think I’ll be able to change that at Bayern. I will certainly adapt to a few things but I will remain emotional. I try to play an offensive and variable style of football for the fans. I’m as emotional on the sideline as I expect my style of football to be, and I try to transfer this feeling to the fans and of course to the players.” he concluded.
