Barcelona are claimed to be looking for suitors for Samuel Umtiti.
According to Eldesmarque, the La Liga giants cannot get rid of the defender fast enough after a poor showing in the past one year.
Umtiti has struggled for fitness at the Camp Nou and has been deemed an excess to Ernesto Valverde’s needs. Arsenal have previously been strongly linked to the 26-year-old but could never finalise a deal. Now, with their immediate needs and Barca ready to sell, they are in prime position to get his signature.
The only problem lies in rival outfits. Tottenham Hotspur are thought to be firmly interested in Umtiti, given their contract situation with Jan Vertonghen. Manchester United are also on the lookout to a second established star next to Harry Maguire.
Jose Mourinho badly wants Vertonghen to follow into Toby Alderweirald’s shoes and sign a contract extention. He said, “In football now there are some people that it looks like they are sometimes more important than players and the clubs, and these people are very important sometimes in decisions, in solutions.
“In this case the family and the agents were happy to make the player happy. So it was easy. Do I want Vertonghen to sign as well? Yes. Can I say more? No. I think a player will sign a contract when the club wants, when the player wants, when the family wants, when the agent wants.
“If one of these parts doesn’t want it is very difficult to make it happen unless the player changes agent and gets an agent who also wants. But again, the most important thing is what Toby told: ‘I couldn’t be happier in another place”. Amazing!
“Do I want Eriksen to sign as well? The only thing I will tell you about Christian is that I would like him to sign a new contract. Apart from that I’m not going to tell you anything.”
READ MORE: Top 5 Arsenal transfer targets list January 2020: Latest transfer news
