Samuel Umtiti has not been the player Barcelona signed ever since he returned as a World Cup winner back in 2016. He played through injury in that tournament and he’s been paying for it ever since.
Factor in his wages and it comes as no surprise the French center-back is on the chopping block ahead of next season.
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Barcelona doing everything they can to move on from Umtiti.
According to Sport, Barcelona is set to meet with the player and inform him that they no longer count on him and he should look for another club.
It is a meeting they are going to have with every player who they see as surplus to requirements and who won’t accept a cut in wages.
This is not the first time they’ve made it known that they want to get rid of Umtiti. The last couple of seasons, there have been reports that they communicated, or were going to communicate, to the player he was no longer wanted.
However, Umtiti has made it known that he does not want to leave and is doing everything he can to overcome his injuries and try to convince Ronald Koeman he still has what it takes.
Samuel Umtiti has been exercising with a personal trainer for a few weeks now to be in the best possible condition for next season. The defender continues with the intention of convincing the Club and the coach to get one more chance. [md] pic.twitter.com/A2qtsya9Ua
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) June 27, 2021
But it seems the Catalan giants have already made up their minds. Their plan at the moment is to get Umtiti to agree to a reduction in wages and then send him out on loan.
According to Marca, Marseille could be a team interested in the French defender. Marseille are also close to adding Barça B forward Konrad de la Fuente to their side.
The club know that offloading Umtiti won’t be easy. They are hopeful they can come to an agreement on new terms. If not, Barcelona are also prepared to take more drastic measures such as terminating his contract.