A little tour in Puglia to “break the gait” again? Stuck in an impossible situation at FC Barcelona, where he had been fighting with long and repeated injuries since the summer of 2018 and his return from the World Cup in Russia, Samuel Umtiti officially joined the Lecce club in Serie A (Italy) on Thursday. .
The promoted Italian and the Catalan club announced their agreement in the morning. Under contract with Blaugrana until 2026, the French international defender (31 caps, 4 goals) is on loan for one season without a purchase option. The Italian club specifies, in a press release published on its website, that the 2018 world champion must arrive at Brindisi airport around 8 p.m. this Thursday, and will have his medical examination this Friday. According to Sky Sport Italia and Spanish radio La Cope, an agreement was reached at the end of last week, providing in particular for the payment of the player’s salary, which remains high despite the reduction to which he had agreed at the time of his extension, by the Catalan club.
500 days of unavailability and 85 games missed since 2018
It’s a new start for the player trained in Lyon. In 2018, he played the World Cup with a delicate knee and, if he had played a central role in obtaining the supreme title for the Blues, he has paid since his decision with repeated relapses. Last season, he only played one small game with Barça, 50 in all and for all since the 2018-2019 season. Since September 2018, he has been sidelined for no less than 500 days, and has missed 85 games due to injury. He has not been selected with the France team since June 2019.
Samuel Umtiti had not been in the odor of sanctity in Barcelona for several months. In the hierarchy of Blaugrana club defenders, he was already overtaken by Pique, Garcia, Araujo, Mingueza and Lenglet last season. If the last two have since left the club, Barça recorded this summer the reinforcements of Andreas Christensen (Chelsea, free) and Jules Koundé (Sevilla FC, 50 million euros). The latter is still not officially registered in La Liga with FC Barcelona, which still hopes to slim down before the end of the transfer window.