Rohan Sengupta
It looks like Jose Mourinho is desperately trying to convince Barcelona defender Samuel Umtiti to join our club in the summer.
According to Sport, Mourinho is calling Umtiti on a regular basis to persuade him to snub Barcelona’s contract extension offer and instead move to Old Trafford.
The Frenchman is already in negotiations with the La Liga giants to commit his long-term future to the club by putting pen to paper on a new bumper deal. But the report adds that his brother and agent Yannick Umtiti is in regular touch with the United officials to seal a potential move to Old Trafford in the summer.
Umtiti has developed into one of the best defenders across Europe and is the leader of Barcelona’s defence. Since leaving Lyon for the Catalan giants, the Frenchman has grown tremendously and continues to impress for the La Liga giants this season with his rock-solid defending and leadership abilities.
The Spanish publication claim that the Red Devils are ready to meet Umtiti’s €60m release clause and will offer him a staggering deal worth €9m-a-year.
Mourinho remains keen to shore up his defence in the summer transfer window and has identified the Barcelona centre-back as his top target.
Despite signing the likes of Victor Lindelof and Eric Bailly, the United manager wants to add another defender to his ranks.
Umtiti fits the bill perfectly to play at United as the French international is strong, powerful and an intimidating figure, tailor-made to play in the Premier League. He can cope well with the demands of English football due to his sheer strength and physicality.
It is believed that Mourinho tried signing Umtiti in the winter transfer window. But after having failed to do so, the United manager is expected to double his efforts using the presence of his international teammates Paul Pogba and Anthony Martial to convince the defender to join our club.
On the other hand, Barcelona are confident that the 24-year-old will sign a contract extension with them and will snub United in the summer, just like he did in January.
It remains to be seen what happens once the summer transfer window opens but I find it highly unlikely that Umtiti would leave Barcelona for United.
