Has Samuel Umtiti's Head Been Turned By Manchester United?

Has Samuel Umtiti's Head Been Turned By Manchester United?
13:34, 13 Apr 2018

In the not too distant past, Barcelona’s Samuel Umtiti was being lauded as one of Europe’s best centre-backs.

Supporters of the Catalan club were in no doubt that they had finally got themselves a first-class replacement for Carles Puyol. A no-nonsense central defender who embodied all of their former captain’s attributes.

Looking at how the transfer market has blown up over the last couple of windows, it’s incredible to think that Barca were able to secure the young Frenchman for what now seems a ludicrously low price of €25m.

However, the Blaugrana clearly haven’t learned their lesson.

When Neymar left last summer, it was because of a perceived ‘low’ buyout clause of €222m. Essentially, he was ‘within reach.’

Umtiti’s is just €60m and that will be no problem for the top clubs. One of them, Manchester United, appear to have developed a keen interest in acquiring his services at the end of the season.

Jose Mourinho has made no secret of his admiration for the player, and given that a lot of business is conducted behind closed doors and well before a transfer leaks into the mainstream, it’s not hard to deduce that someone will have had a word in Umtiti’s shell-like.

The problem for Barcelona is that the player hasn’t batted off any interest as of this moment. He may have kissed his badge during a recent goal celebration, but how many times have we seen players do similar?

His form has absolutely suffered too, as a result.

What seemed to be the odd mistake has now become a steady stream, and he has been at fault on a number of occasions during the last few games.

An alleged request to treble his wages, one would assume in line with what he’s been offered elsewhere, hasn’t been well received as it would break the club’s pay structure.

It’s not really the right time to be making such demands either. Barca are still odds on to win the La Liga title but still have seven to play, and the Copa del Rey final will require the fullest concentration.

And it’s not as if he is at the top of his game either, meaning that he’s not coming into negotiations from a position of strength.

Despite this, Josep Maria Bartomeu must do everything within his power to keep Umtiti, for his own benefit as well as the club’s.

Supporters are still smarting from the way in which Neymar was allowed to leave, and another kick in the teeth could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.

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