Man United In Talks With Barcelona Over Potential Samuel Umtiti Transfer
Reuters/Andrew Boyers
Defensive pursuits have been a frustrating point for Manchester United so far. The centre-back they have long sought after has still not arrived. A host of big players have been pursued by the Red Devils but almost all of them have ended in disappointment.
Most recently, it has been Harry Maguire who appears to be a lost cause. It certainly seems that the English defender is being priced out by Leicester City who are reportedly valuing him for a fee as high as £90 million.
As of such, a new name has been sought after and the talent will be a familiar one for Manchester United supporters.
As per the Mundo Deportivo, United are now pursuing Samuel Umtiti from Barcelona. The French centre-back has been one that the club actively pursued in past windows but nothing had emerged from the saga.
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Now, this report claims that the Premier League club have commenced initial discussions with Barcelona over the availability of the 25-year-old. Interestingly, the chances of Umtiti heading out hinges largely on Matthjis de Ligt, another player United failed to sign.
Barcelona were long thought to be frontrunners in the pursuit for the Dutch defender but now Juventus seem to be closing in on his signature. The report believes that Barca won’t be increasing their contract terms for the 19-year-old and are waiting on his final word before deciding on Umtiti’s future.
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Further, the claim believes that the higher-ups at the Camp Nou are willing to let go of the centre-back they once coveted largely due to the knee problems that plagued him last campaign.
The same report also claims that Victor Lindelof is on Barca’s radar but that United are not willing to sell the Swede. It will be interesting to see if the Umtiti factor affects this alleged interest but the similarity of their position makes it seem less likely.
