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Barcelona: Top 5 potential successors to the ageing Gerard Piqué

By Chiranjib Ghosh

LEVERKUSEN, GERMANY - APRIL 28: Panagiotis Retsos of Leverkusen controls the ball during the Bundesliga match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and VfB Stuttgart at BayArena on April 28, 2018 in Leverkusen, Germany. (Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images)
LEVERKUSEN, GERMANY - APRIL 28: Panagiotis Retsos of Leverkusen controls the ball during the Bundesliga match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and VfB Stuttgart at BayArena on April 28, 2018 in Leverkusen, Germany. (Photo by TF-Images/Getty Images) /
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LEIPZIG, GERMANY – SEPTEMBER 02: Dayot Upamecano of Leipzig runs with the ball during the Bundesliga match between RB Leipzig and Fortuna Duesseldorf at Red Bull Arena on September 2, 2018 in Leipzig, Germany. (Photo by Matthias Kern/Bongarts/Getty Images)
LEIPZIG, GERMANY – SEPTEMBER 02: Dayot Upamecano of Leipzig runs with the ball during the Bundesliga match between RB Leipzig and Fortuna Duesseldorf at Red Bull Arena on September 2, 2018 in Leipzig, Germany. (Photo by Matthias Kern/Bongarts/Getty Images) /

2. Dayot Upamecano

Dayot Upamecano is among the numerous young talents that France has produced in recent times. After starting out his professional career at Austrian club Liefering, he moved to Red Bull Salzburg, where he made his European debut in the Europa League.

In the winter of 2017, Upamecano moved to Leipzig, where he has become a sensation. He has made 57 appearances in all competitions for Leipzig since joining. Upamecano is also an experienced international, having made 34 appearances for France at various youth levels.

He won the European Championship with the French Under-17 team in 2015, but he is yet to make his senior debut. Last season, he attracted a lot of attention from top European clubs, including Barcelona. But a move never materialised, and Upamecano signed a new deal at Leipzig.

Upamecano is very dominant in the air, and has scored many goals from set-pieces and corners throughout his career. He is also very good at intercepting through balls, and is a good marker. He also has the ability to clear the ball under pressure, and likes to dribble out of defence.

Leipzig are unlikely to let go of their young starlet easily. Éric Abidal will have to fight off the likes of Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain for his signature, and Barcelona will need to pay a big fee in order to sign the 20-year old French defender.

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