Manchester United are in talks with Barcelona centre-back Samuel Umtiti, according to David de Gea, via reports in Spain.
It certainly wouldn’t surprise anyone if Jose Mourinho was to land another centre-back over the summer. We signed Victor Lindelof last summer to be Eric Bailly’s partner in defence but the Swede has failed to settle into life in England.
Whether the boss has given up on Lindelof remains to be seen but his arrival was certainly an indication that Chris Smalling, Phil Jones, Marcos Rojo and Daley Blind weren’t going to be long-term first teamers for us.
Now, according to Spanish outlet Diario Gol, Jose Mourinho has contacted Samuel Umtiti’s representatives about moving to Old Trafford.
However, they are claiming that David De Gea leaked details about the potential transfer to Real Madrid president Florentino Perez. This is the hardest part of the story to believe, but, if true, it brings great excitement.
Samuel Umtiti has been linked with us for a few months now with suggestions that he will quit Barcelona if they won’t give him a substantial pay rise. So far, the Catalan giants have been unwilling to meet the French international’s demands.
Whilst his contract doesn’t expire until 2021 Barcelona would be unable to charge us a substantial transfer fee as he has a reported buy-out clause of €60 million (£53m).
Prior to an injury in early December Samuel Umtiti had been the regular centre-back partner to Gerard Pique in the middle of Barcelona’s defence. The 24-year-old is an excellent defender who has both pace and strength to go with his defensive abilities and is a regular in Didier Deschamps’ French national team.
The prospect of having Eric Bailly and Samuel Umtiti as our centre-backs would be amazing, even more so because they have many years to go. Let’s hope these rumours are true and that we make a move for the Barcelona star!
