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Is Samuel Umtiti’s time at Barcelona over for good?

By Chiranjib Ghosh

BARCELONA, SPAIN - AUGUST 4: Samuel Umtiti of FC Barcelona during the Club Friendly match between FC Barcelona v Arsenal at the Camp Nou on August 4, 2019 in Barcelona Spain (Photo by Erwin Spek/Soccrates/Getty Images)
BARCELONA, SPAIN - AUGUST 4: Samuel Umtiti of FC Barcelona during the Club Friendly match between FC Barcelona v Arsenal at the Camp Nou on August 4, 2019 in Barcelona Spain (Photo by Erwin Spek/Soccrates/Getty Images) /
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Samuel Umtiti is being overshadowed by Clément Lenglet at Barcelona

After his move from Lyon, Samuel Umtiti made an instant impact at Barcelona. The French centre-back broke into the first-team at the expense of Javier Mascherano, and became one of the best defenders in the world in the next season.

But Umtiti reached the pinnacle of his career when he distinguished himself in France’s World Cup winning team in 2018. That was to be yet another turning point in his career, but not for the better. The following season, his knee injury limited him to just 15 appearances.

In the meantime, he has been bypassed by compatriot Clément Lenglet in the pecking order at Barça. The former Nancy man has proven himself to be consistent, and has seldom erred. Lenglet has also built a good rapporteur with Gerard Piqué.

This season was set to be Umtiti’s return to the big stage. But Ernesto Valverde showed his trust in Clément Lenglet, and retained the youngster as part of the first-team. But Umtiti still held sway over France manager Didier Deschamps, until now.

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Lenglet has now overtaken Umtiti on the international scene too. The rise of one has been the fall of the other. After Umtiti suffered yet another injury, Lenglet started against Albania in what ended in a 4-1 victory for Les Bleus.

The 23-year old left-footed centre-back also started in the following game, getting on the scoresheet in a 3-0 win over Andorra. This has prompted a public show of support from Deschamps, who has praised his air of confidence.

It will be hard for Umtiti to make it back into the France first-team as well, given that he is not getting minutes at Barça. On the other hand, Aymeric Laporte’s could sideline him even further, given that Raphaël Varane is a constant in France side.

Considering all this, Barça should weigh up whether it is worth it to keep Umtiti around. He is injured half the time, and seems to be succeeding Thomas Vermaelen in that regard. Moreover, his plummeting market value has not stopped clubs from showing interest in him.

Next. Martínez's agent wants to see him at Barça. dark

Arsenal expressed serious interest in signing Umtiti, but Barça refused to let go of him. Manchester United have also held interest in the World Cup winner for a long time. Perhaps the time for Barça to consider these offers.