RB Leipzig have reached an agreement and practically completed the signing of Mohamed Simakan from RC Strasbourg for the upcoming summer transfer window, according to Italian journalist and transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano.
Primarily a central defender, the 20-year-old is fully capable of performing well in almost any defensive role, including that of a right-back as well as that of a defensive midfielder. Even though he was born in Marseille, the 6’5″ youngster is a product of the academy at Strasbourg, where he earned his promotion to the first team in the summer of 2019. This term, Simakan has played a total of 19 games for his club, all in Ligue 1, getting one goal and one assist to his name in the process.
Simakan suffered a knee injury in the 0-1 triumph away to Lens back in January, which required arthroscopic surgery to be rectified. He hasn’t played since, but he is now fully recovered and has already completed a medical ahead of the move to Leipzig, where he is expected to sign a five-year deal. He will be arriving as a replacement for Dayot Upamecano, who will be leaving for Bayern Munich at the end of the season.
Upamecano was linked with a host of top clubs around Europe, including the likes of Real Madrid, Juventus, Liverpool and Manchester United, but like many Bundesliga talents before him, he chose the Allianz Arena for the next step in his career.
As for Simakan, AC Milan were credited with interest in his services as well, but Leipzig’s reputation for developing young players appears to have been enough for him to decide to move to Germany instead.
The deal hasn’t been officially confirmed yet, but it’s expected to happen at some point in the next few days.
