Dayot Upamecano & Dan-Axel Zagadou: Comparing 2 of the Bundesliga's Brightest Defensive Talents

​Dayot Upamecano has been the talk of the town over the past couple seasons.

His performances under Ralf Rangnick and now Julian Nagelsmann have seen many revere the 21-year-old as the most promising centre-back talent on the block. 

Other major talents in his side; namely Nordi Mukiele and Ibrahima Konate, have been overshadowed, while the plethora of fine defensive prospects currently plying their trade in Germany have been merely brushed aside, particularly Dan-Axel Zagadou.

The PSG youth product has to be one of the most overlooked talents on the continent. He established himself as a key member of Lucien Favre's title-challenging Dortmund side last season before reaching new heights in an unfamiliar system this term.

The gap between the two is marginal, so it's only fair we did a little comparison of the France Under-21 internationals.

Put some respect on Dan-Axel's name, people...

Systems They've Played In

Upamecano has played in a variety of systems since his move to east Germany from RB Salzburg in 2017.

Under Ralph Hasenhuttl in his first one and a half seasons at the club, the 21-year-old was generally used as part of a back four alongside skipper Willi Orban, before the emergence of Konate saw the Hungarian's minutes dwindle and a partnership of Upamecano - when fit - and Konate become prominent with Rangnick at the helm. 

Injuries to Konate and Orban this term have forced the tactically flexible Nagelsmann into deploying a back three, with Upamecano flanked by makeshift centre-halves Lukas Klostermann and Marcel Halstenberg. The trio, however, have been very impressive. 

As for Zagadou, the 20-year-old was generally deployed as either a left-sided centre-back or left-back - the latter being a role he struggled in - in his first two seasons at the club.

This season, though, Zagadou - who failed to displace Mats Hummels and Manuel Akanji in Lucien Favre's 4-2-3-1 for the opening 12 games of the Bundesliga season - has excelled playing as the left centre-back in a back three. It was a system change that ultimately saved Favre's job.

Strengths

The physically imposing nature of Upamecano is what helps him stand out on every pitch he strolls upon. 

His 6'1" frame allows him to dominate any opponent he comes up against, proving himself to be a mean man-marker who excels in one-v-one situations - just watch his display against Russian monster Artem Dzyuba away at Zenit. While his numbers in these scenarios are slightly less impressive under Nagelsmann, however, last season he proved to be incredibly adept in these situations: winning 90.9% of duels against dribblers and, on average, he was dribbled past just 0.21 times a game.

While he tries to be as proactive as possible, Upamecano is also blessed with remarkable recovery speed which allows him to sniff out potential counter-attacks or simply catch up to attackers if they find themselves in behind the defence. 

Both defenders, meanwhile, are superb ball-players. A must-have trait for the modern-day centre-half.

Upamecano's passing range allows him to play both penetrating vertical passes and well-weighted floated balls in behind, while his ball-carrying ability is second to none. The Frenchman is like a possessed locomotive train when he drives the ball out of defence.

While Zagadou is also adept at playing line-breaking passes - although his 3.68 passes into the final third don't compare to Upamecano's 6.60 this season (second among Bundesliga centre-backs) - the Dortmund man also excels in other areas with the ball at this feet.

The 20-year-old is an intelligent defender who exploits space via press-baiting, a directional first touch and smart body positioning - the latter of which allows him to manipulate the movement of opponents and play more penetrative disguised passes into Dortmund's front men. Favre's shift to a back three has allowed Zagadou's ball-playing abilities to come to the fore.

From a defensive standpoint, Zagadou is also impressive. His 6'5" build is superior to Upamecano's and it unsurprisingly means he excels in the air - winning over 75% of his aerial duels this season. He's continued to improve positionally in Favre's current system while individual errors and lapses in concentration have become almost non-existent.

Weaknesses

Neither are the finished article, but it is pretty tough to find flaws in their respective games.

Upamecano's injury problems are certainly something to look out for while on the pitch, he can be positionally erratic at times - the spacing between the Leipzig back three has been a problem - as well as a little over-confident in possession, John Stones-esque, which lead to careless giveaways in his own half.

Zagadou's lack of speed, meanwhile, can be an issue if BVB look to play aggressively - with a few sides trying to exploit this with lofted passes in behind the Frenchman. His tackling technique isn't as clean as Upamecano's, meanwhile, and he rarely tries to carry the ball out of defence, averaging just 0.57 dribble attempts this season.

Future Fee

At this point, it's anybody's guess as to what Upamecano's release clause actually is. Reports have ranged between £50m to £80m but overall, clubs will likely have to pay a fee upwards of £55m to secure the Frenchman's services whenever the next transfer window opens. 

Arsenal and Real Madrid are two clubs to have recently been linked with a potential move for the Leipzig man.

There's certainly more of a question mark over Zagadou's value due to the minimal transfer speculation regarding the Dortmund defender.

Transfermarkt currently values him at £31.5m, but that'll inevitably rise over the coming couple seasons as he continues to develop. It wouldn't be surprising to see Zagadou's name attached to a £60m+ price tag in the future. I mean, elite left-footed centre-backs aren't exactly easy to come by.

Conclusion

As of 1 April 2020, you'd have to say that Upamecano is the more refined and overall superior player. 

However, if you were looking for a new left-footed centre-back to build your defence around for the next decade, Zagadou may well be the better option. 

The Dortmund man would likely come at a cheaper price - in the next transfer window - and his recent improvements have shown he could arguably have a higher ceiling than Upamecano.

Nevertheless, these are the two of Europe's hottest talents period. It's just a shame one doesn't get anywhere near the same respect as the other.