A report from Spanish newspaper Sport claims that both Milan and Inter are interested in signing Barcelona defender Samuel Umtiti. The Frenchman is currently on loan with Serie A side Lecce and has had an impressive season to date, making 13 appearances so far while helping them climb clear of the relegation places to 15th in the standings.
According to Sport, the French centre-back is ‘back to his best’ and a ‘new horizon’ is opening up for both him and Barça, who could finally settle his future. Inter are reportedly interested in signing Umtiti provided he is released by Barca at the end of the season and would be willing to take on his salary, which was lowered after his latest renewal.
Umtiti and Barça have not yet spoken about the future, but the French player’s entourage has had it made clear to them that he will not be part of Xavi Hernandez’s plans for the next sporting project. Barça’s intention is that he will no longer be loaned out, but will be released from his contract which expires in June 2026.
Milan are also giving serious consideration to signing him and see him as a clear market opportunity. Lecce have already communicated that they would like him to remain in the team, but they see it as very unlikely that the centre-back will continue, unless Barça continue to pay a large part of his salary. Umtiti has made it known that he is very grateful to Lecce and has felt comfortable in his time at the club, but its clear to him that he is facing a great opportunity to feature for a Champions League team again next season, and will make the most of his options.
In France, there are also several teams who are closely monitoring Umtiti’s progress, chief among them being Olympique Lyon, who last summer ruled out signing him because of doubts about the player’s physical condition. Lyon are looking to bring back players from their youth academy and Umtiti, now with more guarantees over his conditioning, will once again be of interest to them. For the moment, the player’s entourage is listening to offers and at the end of the season, they will make a decision with Barça.
