Samuel Umtiti set to leave Barcelona | OneFootball

L’Équipe report this morning that Samuel Umtiti will leave Barcelona this summer, and could be set for a move to either France or Italy in order to relaunch his career.

One potential option for the defender would be to remain in Catalonia and sign for Girona, who were recently promoted to La Liga. The president of the club’s board Pere Guardiola – brother of Pep – made the club’s interest public earlier this week.

The French international would be interested in moving back to his former club Lyon, which he left for the Blaugrana in 2016, in the same way Alexandre Lacazette has come back. However, Les Gones are not particularly interested, with Castello Lukeba now having emerged. Another solution would be a move to Italy, with several Serie A sides – some playing in Europe, others not – are interested.

In any case, the 28-year-old, who has never quite recovered from the knee injury he battled through to help France win the World Cup in 2018, is going to leave Barcelona. Having signed a contract extension earlier this year so as to help the club with their wage bill, he has again suffered fitness issues this season and made just the one appearance. The Catalan press are indicating there could be a contract termination, although the likelier option is a loan move.