Nagelsmann defends new signing Upamecano after poor Bundesliga debut

Stefan Bienkowski

• 16 Aug 2021 09:07 CDT
• 5 min read

Bayern Munich head coach Julian Nagelsmann has defended new signing Dayot Upamecano, following a poor Bundesliga debut for the club.

The French defender made the move to Bayern from league rivals RB Leipzig in the summer, after the Munich side triggered Upamecano’s release clause.

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That transfer amounted to around €42.5 million and the entirety of Bayern’s transfer budget for the summer transfer window.

As such, the young defender was under a lot of pressure to hit the ground running in his first league game for the club.

However, despite periods of calm, the young defender almost gave away two penalties and struggled with the speed and physicality of Borussia Monchengladbach striker Marcus Thuram during the 1-1 draw on Friday.

Despite that, Nagelsmann has insisted that he isn’t worried about Upamecano’s performance and remains confident that he’ll be worth every penny in time.

"The style of play is not very different here. He hasn't had that many sessions with his teammates yet,” explained the Bayern head coach.

“I don't think the discussion over his performance (vs Gladbach) was justified. He's a young player who has to integrate and get his rhythm going"

However, when asked which of his central defenders will play against Borussia Dortmund in Tuesday’s Super Cup, Nagelsmann refused to confirm whether Upamecano will play.

"All three are on a similar level,” said the coach, in reference to Upamecano, Niklas Sule and Tanguy Nianzou. “It's not an easy decision, we'll wait for the final training and then decide"

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Following an opening day draw with Gladbach, all eyes will be on Tuesday’s Super Cup clash with Dortmund to see if Bayern can bounce back and prove their doubters wrong.

A quiet summer transfer window has led to many questioning the strength of this Bayern side and whether they have the necessary depth and first team talent to dominate the Bundesliga as they have over the course of the last nine seasons.