Samuel Umtiti rejected the option to leave Barcelona for Liverpool
Barcelona and French centre-back Samuel Umtiti had reportedly turned down a major move to Anfield in the January transfer window of 2021. Fresh reports from the Daily Mail suggest that the FIFA World Cup-winning defender had refused the move to the Premier League to play under Jurgen Klopp, in the closing stages of the transfer window.
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The Frenchman had quite the start for his career at Barcelona as he won the La Liga with the Catalans. However, after the 2018 FIFA World Cup, things have not been the same for Umtiti. The defender deteriorated majorly in form and performance after the knee injury sustained during the world cup.
Since the tournament, he failed to keep the defense contained on multiple UEFA Champions League knockout occasions. The Blaugrana saw themselves heading out of the European competition year after year with Umtiti struggling at the back.
Recently, however, the defender has been out injured for a very long period of time. These injuries have not helped to kick start his career back on track. Fresh reports now suggest that Jurgen Klopp was supposedly extremely interested in landing the centre-back to resolve his injury crisis over at Anfield.
The former Borussia Dortmund coach had major injury problems with Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez, and Joel Matip regularly injured for this current 2020/21 season. The German manager has had huge defensive problems with all of his major centre-backs out.
The problems are so long and serious that Jordan Henderson and Fabinho had to fill in as defenders. The former Dortmund coach stated that it would be a “miracle” if Virgil van Dijk is able to make a return this season.
The reports have stated that Samuel Umtiti is being closely monitored by the German coach but the Frenchman turned down an offer to move to Anfield. The centre-back reportedly wants to fight for his place amongst the likes of Gerard Pique, Clement Lenglet, Ronald Araujo, and Oscar Mingueza.
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Should Barca look to sell Umtiti to Liverpool?