Barcelona are hopeful with Umtiti after fine season on loan at Lecce

After a difficult few years, Samuel Umtiti has re-emerged at Lecce. The French centre-back made a gamble by moving to a more humble Italian team and it has worked out well, as he is getting continuity and little by little he is recovering the level that a few years ago made him one of the best defenders in Europe and also one of the most valued. 

His entry into the team was progressive. He had been out of action for a long time with hardly any minutes and he needed time to adapt to the rhythm of the competition and also to a new league, the Italian one, where defences are of great importance. 

Moreover, playing for Barça is not the same as playing for Lecce, who have much lower aspirations and a radically different approach to what Umtiti was used to at Spotify Camp Nou. 

But with hard work and tenacity, the Frenchman has become an indispensable player for Marco Baroni's Lecce, who have fielded him in 19 of the last 20 games. Umtiti needed continuity and minutes to get back to his best and he is getting them. He has accumulated more than 1700 minutes, a figure he hasn't reached since the 2017/18 season. Good numbers

Umtiti has always stood out for being a great outlet with the ball and with an 86.5% pass success rate he continues to prove that. He keeps his defensive ability intact by winning 16 duels on average per game, 63.3% and recovering 15.5 balls on average every 90 minutes. 

He has been successful 85.1% of the time he has attempted to dribble, compared to an average of 78.5% in Serie A in the 2022/23 season. 

These are figures that highlight that the French defender is making a comeback after a long time away from the spotlight and is keen to make up for lost time. Possible offers

Barcelona are very pleased with Umtiti's improvement. Despite the fact that his loan spell at Lecce has not given them a great economic return, they are convinced that his great season could help the player to receive a better offer this summer. 

At the moment, they are not considering him forming part of Xavi's squad, who has the position very well covered, and they understand that other clubs in the Italian league will show interest in him, seeing how he has responded this season. There may also be offers from France, where Umtiti wanted to return last summer. 

Lecce did not reserve the option to buy him and if they want to keep him as their own player they would have to negotiate again with Barça. It is very likely that after such a good season, Umtiti will be approached by other suitors, although the player has been very happy at the Italian club.