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Serie A outfit Lecce have opened talks to bring in FC Barcelona defender Samuel Umtiti this summer, according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano.
Barcelona have significantly strengthened their defense in the current transfer window. The Catalan giants have brought in French defender Jules Kounde from Sevilla for €50 million and also signed Andreas Christensen on a free transfer.
This leaves Umtiti as surplus to requirements in the squad and could therefore be offloaded before the end of the summer transfer window. According to the aforementioned source, the Frenchman could sign for Lecce, who have opened negotiations with Barcelona.
As things stand, Umtiti still has four years remaining on his current contract with Barcelona. The World Cup-winning centre-back penned an extension back in January this year on a reduced salary which helped the club register new signing Ferran Torres.
However, Umtiti has fallen down the pecking order under Xavi Hernandez and the club is now looking to offload the former Olympique Lyonnais defender. Umtiti's stocks have drastically decreased in the past few seasons. According to Transfermarkt, the Frenchman is currently valued at just €2 million.
As per Football Espana, however, the Catalan giants are looking to offload the 28-year-old on a free transfer this summer. It is worth noting that the Blaugrana need to offload a few players in order to sign any new players from now until the end of the summer transfer window.
Xavi Hernandez is still looking to bring in a new right-back this summer with Villarreal full-back Juan Foyth being linked with a move to the Nou Camp.
Samuel Umtiti has barely featured for Barcelona for the past two seasons
Samuel Umtiti has become one of the forgotten players at the Nou Camp over the past couple of seasons. The French defender has barely featured in the first-team in the last two campaigns. This is mostly down to Umtiti's poor injury record, which has seen other defenders overtake him in the pecking order at the club.
Last season, Umtiti made just one appearance for Barcelona across all competitions. It came in La Liga against Osasuna in a game which ended 2-2.
During the 2020-21 season, Umtiti made 16 appearances for the Catalan giants across all competitions. He missed quite a few games due to a knee injury he picked up at the start of the season.
