RB Leipzig centre-back Dayot Upamecano might have moved one step closer to his much-touted move to Arsenal this summer thanks to pictures posted by his barber on Instagram.
The French youngster is being monitored by a number of Premier League clubs including Arsenal and Manchester City, while Real Madrid and Bayern Munich are also interested in the highly-rated 21-year-old.
Upamecano shone as RB Leipzig defeated Spurs in the Champions League last 16 in March but he is unwilling to sign a new deal at the Red Bull Arena, according to German newspaper Bild.
With just over one year left on his contract, it is thought that Leipzig will cash in while they can this summer - and Arsenal may have emerged in prime position to beat other suitors to Upamecano’s signature.
And that is thanks to Instagram stories posted by Sheldon Edwards, who describes himself as a “personal barber to Elite Athletes and media personalities”, and also cuts the hair of Raheem Sterling and Usain Bolt.
Edwards uploaded a picture of Upamecano, which was taken many months ago, on Monday evening and followed it up with a picture of emojis including a pen writing and a book - implying that a contract might be signed very soon.
Given Edwards’ Instagram tag of ‘hd_cutz_london’, his posts could be interpreted as hinting that Upamecano is signing with the north London club.
Meanwhile, RB Leipzig sporting director Markus Krosche maintains that he would like Upamecano to sign a new deal with the club amid the uncertainty caused by the coronavirus outbreak.
This is a far-reaching decision for a player," Krosche told Kicker. "He should take his time with that. He has to be clear about exactly what he is going to do, how he sees his future.
“Maybe that has changed a bit as a result of the new situation [coronavirus].”
Arsenal were put off Leipzig’s asking price of £70m last summer, though the Bundesliga club will be bargaining from a weaker stance at the end of the campaign with Upamecano about to enter the final year of his contract.
Gunners boss Mikel Arteta is understood to want to improve his options at centre-back, with existing options David Luiz, Shkodran Mustafi and Sokratis Papastathopoulos often producing shaky performances this season.