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Barcelona’s Samuel Umtiti has drawn interest from many clubs

By Laieke Abebe

Samuel Umtiti during the match between FC Barcelona and Athletic Club, played at the Camp Nou Stadium on 18th March 2018 in Barcelona, Spain. -- (Photo by Urbanandsport/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Samuel Umtiti during the match between FC Barcelona and Athletic Club, played at the Camp Nou Stadium on 18th March 2018 in Barcelona, Spain. -- (Photo by Urbanandsport/NurPhoto via Getty Images) /
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Barcelona central defender Samuel Umtiti is drawing a lot of interest from other clubs as negotiations for a renewal between the two sides haven’t started.

Last week, SPORT reported that French central defender Samuel Umtiti’s renewal negotiations were not going so great. The French defender is rumored to have some offers to leave Barcelona at the end of this season. Umtiti wants to be paid a lot, but the amount of money is to the point where Barca isn’t willing to offer it. Umtiti wants to be paid like some of the clubs best players and rightfully so because he has been excellent during his time with the Blaugrana.

Despite the number of dollars Umtiti wants, the Barca board doesn’t believe that he is worth the large sum he demands. Barca normally starts negotiations with players over a new deal with two and a half years to go until the current deal expire. In Umtiti’s case, that date would be January 2019 because his current deal expires in June 2021. His current release clause is set at 60 million Euros, so it makes sense that other clubs are looking for his services.

Speaking of that release clause, Umtiti’s actually the lowest of the strongest starting 11 Barcelona boasts. Sergi Roberto and Gerard Pique’s release clauses were increased to 500 million euros after they both re-signed with Barcelona. Because of the low release clause, it is imperative that the board gets a renewal done with Umtiti. His age and potential as a central defender could keep him as a member of the starting 11 for a long time.

This week, Samuel Umtiti confirmed in an interview that many teams are trying to sign him. It shouldn’t be a surprise because there are some big teams in Europe that need help in central defense. Umtiti even sneaked in a joke or two about potentially signing his fellow French compatriot Antoine Griezmann. The Atletico Madrid and French star forward has been in rumors to join Barcelona for the past few months.

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"“I got myself into agent mode! No, I’m kidding. It’s true that we talk about it a lot. I was able to talk about it with him, but just to find out what he thinks of my club. But everyone thinks good things about it. It makes them dream. If he comes, we’d have to play with six forwards.”Samuel Umtiti on Antoine Griezmann potentially signing with Barcelona"

While re-signing Samuel Umtiti is a big priority, getting someone like Griezmann would be a dream signing. However, it would likely cost a money amount close to the number Paris Saint-Germain paid to get Neymar. Nonetheless, dreams have become reality so many times so anything is possible on this front.

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Overall, Barca has to work out a deal to keep Samuel Umtiti with the team moving forward before another team swoops in. Manchester United could come calling and they’ve been linked to Umtiti since this situation started. Other Premier League clubs like Liverpool and Manchester City have already paid for center-backs in the last two transfer windows. Because of this, they both could be out of the conversation for Umtiti this summer. We will see what the Barca board does in this situation.

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