Playing for 90
Fansided

Samuel Umtiti set to stay at Barcelona

By Ernesto Hernandez

BARCELONA, SPAIN - JULY 21: Samuel Umtiti of FC Barcelona warms up prior to a friendly match between FC Barcelona and Gimnastic de Tarragona at Johan Cruyff Stadium on July 21, 2021 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Eric Alonso/Getty Images)
BARCELONA, SPAIN - JULY 21: Samuel Umtiti of FC Barcelona warms up prior to a friendly match between FC Barcelona and Gimnastic de Tarragona at Johan Cruyff Stadium on July 21, 2021 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Eric Alonso/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
BARCELONA, SPAIN – AUGUST 08: Samuel Umtiti of FC Barcelona competes for the ball with Alejandro Jose Marques of Juventus during the Joan Gamper Trophy match between FC Barcelona and Juventus at Estadi Johan Cruyff on August 08, 2021 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Pedro Salado/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images)
BARCELONA, SPAIN – AUGUST 08: Samuel Umtiti of FC Barcelona competes for the ball with Alejandro Jose Marques of Juventus during the Joan Gamper Trophy match between FC Barcelona and Juventus at Estadi Johan Cruyff on August 08, 2021 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Pedro Salado/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images) /

The center-back could make the Barcelona squad list for the Getafe match

After months of speculation surrounding the future of Samuel Umtiti, the French center-back is set to stay.

According to Sport, the Catalans were unable to convince Umtiti on a departure and so it has been decided he will stay for at least one more season.

More from Playing for 90

With the transfer window set to close in a couple of days, Barcelona believe they will be unable to find someone to take on Umtiti and his high wages. The 27-year-old had a couple of offers but none interested him.

He was only contemplating leaving if it meant going to a top team playing in the Champions League. Given a number of those clubs are all trying to lower their wages, it was unlikely they would be interested in Umtiti unless Barcelona were willing to cover some of his wages.

While moving him on was the goal, the club does credit Umtiti with getting into better shape and believe he could still be useful if and when manager Ronald Koeman decides to use him.

With Umtiti staying, the next step between him and the club is to negotiate on lowering his wages. A move that the Frenchman is willing to consider.

Umtiti could be available as soon as this weekend for the team’s match against Getafe. Koeman will be short two defenders following the injury to Gerard Piqué and the one game suspension for Eric García after his red card in the draw against Athletic Bilbao.

Next. PSG reject Real Madrid bid for Kylian Mbappe. dark

At the very least, Umtiti should make the bench as Óscar Mingueza is just coming back from injury. Whether he sees any playing time or not depends on what Koeman decides to do. If he can put the injuries behind him and show some of what he did in his first season with the club, then fighting to stay will prove the right move.

Home/FC Barcelona