Lyon's plan to bring Samuel Umtiti back to Ligue 1

Lyon's plan to bring Samuel Umtiti back to Ligue 1

| sport

Barça would like to find a new club for the French centre back, with the club looking to get his wages off the books

Samuel Umtiti has one foot out the door. Barça's urgent need to reduce its wage bill, combined with Samuel Umtiti's downward trajectory over the last couple of seasons, make the player a strong contender to leave Camp Nou this summer. The club have been working to arrange a transfer for some time now, although they are yet to find a solution.

Umtiti signed a new deal with Barçelona in 2018 when he was at the height of his footballing powers, having just been crowned world champion following France's success at the 2018 World Cup in Russia. This new deal tied him to the club until 2023 and would see him pick up an enormous salary. Since then, his constant knee problems have prevented him from finding his best form, and he is no longer considered to be a starter at Camp Nou.

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His high wage, which no other club would be able to afford, is one of the biggest obstacles to securing a move away from Camp Nou. However, his former team Olympique de Lyon are working on a plan to bring the player back to France.

Lyon feel that they could bring the player back to his pre-2018 form. However, they cannot afford his transfer fee or his wage, with both being considered too high for the Ligue 1 club. Instead, the club are working on signing 'Big Sam' on a loan deal in which they would cover approximately 50% of his wage. It remains to be seen whether Barça would agree to this deal from a financial or sporting perspective, and whether the centre back would consider a return to his former club.

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