Thomas Hein
Manchester United are not going to rest with just one big name signing as they look to sign Samuel Umtiti from Barcelona. While we did sign Alexis Sanchez in a swap deal that saw Henrikh Mkhitaryan go the other way, a report from Don Balon claims that Jose Mourinho wants to sign the Barcelona centre-half.
Umtiti has been one of the better defenders under Ernesto Valverde and would be a great addition to any club in the world and we might have to stump up at least £52.7m for the 24-year-old, according to the report.
The French defender has played 21 games and although he has not scored a goal, he still has helped the Catalans dominate La Liga, where they enjoy an 11-point lead over their nearest rivals Atletico Madrid.
Is Umtiti The Answer To Our Defensive Issues?
While we have not been all that poor defensively, the likes of Chris Smalling and Phil Jones have not had consistent seasons and Umtiti could be the man to fix that problem. The 24-year-old would form a formidable partnership with Eric Bailly and with both players being young, we might have a world-class defence for a number of years to come.
Victor Lindelof is already at the club and bit of support from the likes of Umtiti could be the right experience for the youngster to get better. Umtiti has a contract until 2021 and will be tough to pry away from the Nou Camp but the 24-year-old might be tempted with a bigger pay package.
There is one major issue which would play into our hands as Barcelona would need to balance the books due to their capture of Philippe Coutinho. They would need to sell a couple of stars and Umtiti could be one player who would fetch a high value, while also clearing up the wage bill at the club.
It will be tough to sign the 24-year-old; there is no doubt. But if anyone can complete this deal, it has to be our club. The summer window will be incredible once again, we are sure of that, and if we can end the season with a trophy, that would make us a more attractive proposition to Umtiti.
