(Football news) Serie A club Lecce have reportedly agreed a deal with Barcelona for Samuel Umtiti. The deal will be a loan wherein Barcelona will cover all of Umtiti's wages but Lecce will pay add-ons depending on the Frenchman's appearances. Barcelona have pulled a few financial levers to register their new signings but are yet to register Jules Kounde. Umtiti's signing will officially save Barcelona money but it certainly would help the situation by getting rid of a player who is not in Xavi's plans. The Blaugrana are running out of time to register Kounde and if not done soon then Kounde could leave the club for free. 

Umtiti was considered one of the best centre backs in the world back in 2018 when he scored the winner for France in the World Cup semi final against Belgium. Since then, injuries and inconsistencies have been a major problem for him. Barcelona have tried to offload the Frenchman several times but have failed. Umtiti played just 1 match last season and 16 matches the season before that. He desperately needs a change to try and get his career back on track. The defender is still just 28 years of age and could still have some success left to achieve.

When Umtiti was on top of his game he was world class. Even though his fitness is a big issue now, he could still be a good asset to Lecce. The Italian side have just been promoted to the Serie A this season and they will be keen to have Umtiti on board. The Frenchman has a lot of big game experience which is something a newly promoted team is always searching for. Barcelona will be hoping that Umtiti performs well so that they can sell him in January or in the summer for some money or who knows, even bring him back to play for them again.

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