Manchester United target Dayot Upamecano has opted to sign for FC Red Bull Salzburg, the Austrian club have confirmed.

According to talkSPORT, who cite French newspaper L'Equipe, the Premier League giants were expected to sign the 16-year-old defender from French side Valenciennes having offered the youngster a contract.

The online edition of L'Equipe claimed in June that Manchester City and Marseille were also keen to recruit the player, but in a surprise move, the central defender has rejected some of Europe's biggest clubs for a move to Austria.

Salzburg confirmed the move via their official website. "Dayot decided to join us despite getting offers from some top European clubs. That makes us very proud and shows that we have already made a name for ourselves internationally in the field of developing talent. He has enormous potential, and we are sure that he will settle in quickly with us." said the club's head of football Christoph Freund.

L'Equipe have since added second tier side Valenciennes will receive a fee of €2.2m for Upamecano, who was part of the France team that won this summer's Under-21 European Championship.

It is unlikely that Upamecano's move to Salzburg will be mourned too much this weekend with United having sealed a move for Bayern Munich midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger on Saturday 11 July.

Following reports from German daily Bild on Friday, Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rumminegge confirmed the Bavarian giants had reached an agreement with United over a transfer.

"Bastian wants to do something new at the end of his career. He asked that we meet his wishes.

"It's regrettable because Bastian meant a great deal to the club. He achieved great things. We say goodbye on great terms."

Schweinsteiger, 30, has been offered a three-year deal worth £140,000 per week, according to Bild.

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