La Liga
All Europe Wants Samuel Umtiti Except Barcelona
Despite strong interest from several clubs in Europe, Samuel Umtiti wants to stay at Barcelona.
However, the French World Cup Champion defender has been under scrutiny this season due to the lack of playing and injuries.
Umtiti suffers from a persistent knee injury in recent months which has resulted in him falling down in the pecking order under Ernesto Valverde.
Meanwhile, Clement Lenglet, who joined the club last summer and was brought to replace Gerard Pique, has stepped in Umtiti’s place.
This, of course, causing doubts in Catalan fans over the defender’s long-term future at the club.
Umtiti’s Fall Became Lenglet’s Rise
Not too long ago the idea of Barcelona selling Umtiti was absurd. Many even considered Big Sam as a suitable replacement to legendary Carles Puyol.
However, that is no longer true as the Catalan side have seem a prosperous prospect in Lenglet.
Needless to say, Lenglet was not part of the French side which was victorious in Russia but has taken advantage of Umtiti’s situation to oust him in the starting squad.
Umtiti’s Injury
Umtiti’s pain comes from bits of loose cartilage in his knee. Interestingly enough, this was the same injury that cause Puyol to retire several years back.
While the club considered putting the defender through surgery, the player opted to receive conservative treatment.
The 25-year-old was available for the majority of August and September. He was then out between October and February with a brief appearance in November where he was on the bench against Real Betis and played 90 minutes against Atletico Madrid.
Additionally, he has been benched throughout the entire UEFA Champions League knockout stage and has manage to play every other game in La Liga.
Who’s Interested?
Great interest has come from English clubs, however, an Italian side have also been clamoring for the defender.
Arsenal has had a strong interest in the French defender as they are in need of a new center-back.
Mundo Deportivo reported interest from Manchester United to bolster their defensive options. Nonetheless, the Red Devils have other options with Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly and Leicester’s Harry Maguire.
Additionally, Juventus has also shown interest in the top-rater defender. La Vecchia Signora is looking to replace its defenders in Leonardo Bonucci, Andrea Barzagli and Giorgio Chiellini.
Will He Leave?
Barcelona are very keen on acquiring Ajax star Matthijs de Ligt. Let’s not forget that the Catalans have already signed Frenkie de Jong.
But what other options does Barcelona have? Jean-Clair Todibo who will join the club in early July 2019. Jeison Murillo has seen very little action since joining from Valencia and will return to Los Ches at the end of the season.
Meanwhile, Thomas Vermaelen’s contract is set to end this summer and will likely depart the club.
Guillem Jaime Serrano and Jorge Cuenca remain with Barcelona B and will likely not see any action next season.
With the possible arrival of de Ligt and Tobido, the club will be one up in their regular four center-back rotation. It is true that Pique will likely see less action but may still have one more year left in the tank.
However, Umtiti has already said he wants to continue at Camp Nou. Let’s not forget that Umtiti has a contract until 2023 and a 500-million-euro release clause.
Nevertheless, reports from Spain suggest that Umtiti’s price would be 80-million-euro.
Should de Ligt arrive this summer, the door will be open for Umtiti to leave as their are still great doubts over his health.
Follow us on YouTube and Twitter
Written by Edgar Gomez
Follow me on Twitter
Photo credit to hoang back via Flickr
