Manchester City linked with surprise move for Samuel Umtiti
Manchester City are reportedly one of many clubs keeping tabs on France international Samuel Umtiti.
The latest reports in Spain suggest that Manchester City are linked with surprise move for Barcelona defender Samuel Umtiti.
The France international was signed by Barcelona in July 2016 from Lyon for a fee of 25 million euros. The 26-year-old has a contract until 2023 with the club.
Umtiti has played 103 times for Barcelona since signing from Lyon, scoring two goals and creating one assist in that time.
The 26-year-old is considered to be one of the best defenders in France. As a member of France national football team, Umtiti won 31 caps and he scored 4 goals.
Adding a defender remains Manchester City’s top priority this winter and Pep Guardiola will have drafted a shortlist of a number of possible targets he could approach in the coming weeks.
The France international is thought to perfectly fit the profile of defensive player Guardiola wants to target in the winter transfer window.
There is no doubt that Umtiti will take Manchester City’s defense to a different level.
According to Football Espana, “Barcelona defender Samuel Umtiti has been linked with a move to Manchester City next year amid doubts on his Camp Nou future. The France international has been struggling with a persistent knee injury for the past year, with the club alternating between treatments in order to solve the issue. After the issued was flagged up by club doctors back in November 2018, he underwent a period of rehabilitation in Qatar, before undergoing minor surgery back in Spain. The Blaugrana are said to have been more persistent for the defender to get full surgery on the issue, while the player instead opted to go for more conservative treatments. Get Football News France cite major outlet L’Equipe as saying Manchester City now view Umtiti as a possible January transfer amid a defensive shortage, with Aymeric Laporte still recovering from a long-term knee cartilage and meniscus injury. Umtiti has played just four league games all season and previous reports outlined how he has only featured in 23 matches for the Catalan giants since helping France to the World Cup in 2018. Chelsea and Manchester United are other clubs to be linked to the Cameroon-born defender, who has lost his place in the France side with Clement Lenglet – his Barca teammate – preferred.”
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Manchester City have to fork out a huge transfer fee if they are genuinely interested in the France international.
Undoubtedly he would be a fantastic recruit for Manchester City.
Manchester City fans would certainly love to see him arrive at the club this winter.
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