Barcelona agree deal for Samuel Umtiti
Barcelona are closing in on the €30 million (£24.8 million) signing of young France defender Samuel Umtiti from Lyon, after the French club’s president confirmed that a fee had been agreed for the 22-year-old international. He has been chased by a number of Europe’s biggest clubs for some time now, but it would appear that Barcelona are the ones to have sealed his signature.
Jean-Michael Aulas, Lyon president, spoke to French radio station RMC Sport (and quoted by the Guardian) to confirm that a deal had been struck, saying: “We anticipate the eventual departure of Umtiti. Samuel has an exclusive agreement for him to join Barcelona.
“We made a promise that if he could play for the club of his heart, he would leave. It’s part of the commitment which we have made, as was done for Karim Benzema when he went to Real Madrid.”
Umtiti has been a regular in Lyon’s senior team since 2012, after making his breakthrough into the first-team in 2011-12 with twelve appearances. He’s now gone on to make 131 Ligue 1 appearances, scoring three times. His performances have earned him praise across Europe, and has been repeatedly linked with a move away for some time. Now, it appears he has got his wish.
The 22-year-old is currently at Euro 2016 with his native France, but is yet to make his senior debut having played numerous times for youth teams. He was called up following an injury to a man he could soon be playing alongside at Barcelona, Jeremy Mathieu. Umtiti is now expected to make his first senior appearance this weekend, when France play Iceland in the quarter-finals at the Stade de France.