Seldom-used center-back Samuel Umtiti is believed to be on the way out and the first team lining up to get him is Manchester United. It appears that the 26-year-old's time with Barca has come to a close, having barely given the chance to perform.
According to a report from Sport, Barcelona is now open to dealing the French defender. Taking up his place will be Pau Torres. The reported asking price for Umtiti is around £46 million, a price that Manchester United will try to consider.
The interest in Umtiti could be a bit surprising on the part of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer considering they already have Harry Maguire. The Red Devils made the 27-year-old the world's most expensive defender after signing him to a record £85 million deal. If talks to start and end well, the next problem Man Utd. will have to address is who they have to let go.
So far, two names have been suggested as likely candidates - Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo. Eric Bailly is also someone who could be moved out as his development is slowly progressing. However, there are some things that the Red Devils need to address first. One is the overall health condition of Umtiti.
One of the reasons why he saw limited action in Barcelona is that he was dealing with a knee problem. This limited him to just 11 games this season so a medical check is a must. Tied up to that is the asking price of Barcelona for Umtiti. Manchester United has been known to spend heavily but with reason. If Umtiti is not fully capable of helping out the cause of Solskjaer, it makes no sense to pay that much for someone unable to perform for the Red Devils.
If not Man Utd., Paris Saint-Germain could be another team willing to check out Umtiti. But the reason behind this may be a bit tricky with Barcelona bidding to take in Neymar. A deal between the two may be a bit complicated and more assets could be thrown in.
Either way, Barca seems to be prepared to move forward without Umtiti. Aside from Torres, Quique Setien is not short of players who can step up defensively. They still have Gerard Pique and Clement Lenglet, two players that Umtiti played behind over at Camp Nou.
Umtiti could be a great complement beside Maguire if the deal does materialize. Umtiti does have options but the price tag and his health are likely to be scrutinized first before anything is finalized.
