Catalonian giants, Barcelona have disclosed that they are ready to listen to offers for French centre-back Samuel Umtiti according to reports. The World Cup winner is set to leave the Camp Nou this summer, with the club hoping to offload the star for a fee in region of €70 million to €90m.
The former Olympique Lyon star has previously been linked with Premier League giants Manchester United and Manchester City. With the price range expected to sign the 2018 World Cup star, other Premier League clubs are likely to be monitoring the situation.
Samuel Umtiti joined the Barcelona from Lyon in 2016 with the hope being that he would be a long-term replacement to Carles Puyol in central defence and a partner to Gerard Pique. His stock has since fallen dramatically, however, with the defender now third choice in the Ernesto Valverde’s books, behind both Gerard Pique and Clement Lenglet.
The Catalan giants remain keen on signing Ajax centre-back Matthijs de Ligt from the Eredivise to Camp Nou in the summer after signing his team-mate Frenkie De Jong.
The Liga leaders do not currently have the transfer budget to fund a move for De Ligt, with the renovation of Camp Nou due to take place in the summer and this would cost a lot of money. So they will need to offload three defenders to make room for the Dutchman in the Barcelona set-up.
Samuel Umtiti is seen as an expendable member of the squad and is the most valuable member of the defence should they decide to let one go for the purpose of unlocking funds. The 25-year-old provides Barca with the best chance of receiving the highest possible amount among all the defenders on the club’s books, particularly with the reported interest from England’s top flight.
Other defenders such as Thomas Vermaelen and Jeison Murillo are also expected to leave the Nou Camp when their contracts expire in the summer. Latest signing Jean-Clair Todibo is expected be given more time to develop and prove himself having only joined from French side Toulouse in January 2019.
Umtiti’s situation at Barca is not helped by his agent’s negotiations for his new contract after the World Cup in 2018, with the player unwilling to relax his salary demands in light of the club’s attempts to appease FFP limits.
There have also been persistent recurring injuries with his knee, with the 25-year-old having initially suffered the injury a little over a year ago before deciding to play through the pain at the World Cup, thus aggravating the problem whilst refusing to undergo surgery.
The knee problem, coupled with the form of Lenglet, who is now very much first choice alongside Pique, means he has played just 10 games for Barca in 2018-19 and, despite it seeming unthinkable last year, a sale is now a very real possibility.
There is, however, no guarantee that Umtiti, who started both of France’s Euro 2020 qualifying wins in the latest international break, will be sold. Umtiti has a contract until 2023 with a €500m (£426m/$563m) release clause, with Ernesto Valverde’s side likely to ignore bids that are lower than the €70m mark, given their strong position in any potential negotiations.