Man Utd and Arsenal told to fork out £27m transfer fee for Samuel Umtiti by Barcelona to land defender this summer
BARCELONA have reportedly made Manchester United and Arsenal target Samuel Umtiti available for just £27million.
The price is a marked decrease on the £46m valuation placed on the centre-back's head earlier in the year.
Since then, the LaLiga giants' financial woes have worsened considerably due to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.
A fire sale of sorts is expected in the summer with Umtiti marked as one asset to be moved on, according to Barcelona-based newspaper Sport.
Initially, the club want to use the Frenchman in their bid to sign Lautaro Martinez from Inter Milan.
Although there has been no contact between Umtiti and the Serie A side yet, he has reportedly been told to expect an offer soon.
With Inter wanting to replace veteran centre-back Diego Godin, there is thought to be interest on their end ahead of Barcelona opening negotiations over a player exchange deal for Argentine forward Martinez.
Furthermore, United and Arsenal have been monitoring Umtiti for some time with a move to the Premier League thought to be preferred by the 26-year-old.
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The presence of national team colleagues such as Anthony Martial, Paul Pogba and Matteo Guendouzi at those clubs is also important in the defender's thinking.
Any decision on his future is not expected for some time however, with the player's first priority being to stay at the Camp Nou.
Umtiti is said to be focusing on returning from a calf injury in time for Spanish football's restart, at which point he hopes to have a prominent role under new coach Quique Setien.
But there are reportedly concerns around Barcelona about his injury record, with foot and knee problems cropping up earlier in the campaign to restrict him to just nine LaLiga starts in 2019/20.
