Arsenal Rumors: Barcelona Star Might Join Gunners Under One Condition – Report

Arsenal would have to meet one specific demand of one of its summer transfer window targets if the club wants to sign him, a report suggests.

Samuel Umtiti is once again linked to a move away from Camp Nou at the end of the season, with reports saying a number of big-name clubs are already keeping tabs on him. Among those heavily considering a transfer swoop for the Barcelona defender is English Premier League club Arsenal, Transfer Market Web reported. International Business Times could not independently verify this information.

Umtiti’s contract with Barcelona is set to expire at the end of the current campaign, and the report stated that the Gunners have rekindled their interest in the Frenchman. Aside from Arsenal, Umtiti’s former club Lyon is also monitoring his situation, the report added.

However, should Arsenal decide to pursue Umtiti in the summer, the London outfit would have to succumb to the player’s demands.

If the reports are accurate, Umtiti is not open to compromise on his current rate at Barcelona which is estimated to be around the region of €15 million ($18 million) per year. The 27-year-old would only be listening to offers if a club would be able or is willing to match the said figure, according to French publication Le10 Sport.

As for Barcelona, the Catalan club has begun to grow tired of Umtiti’s shortcomings due to a series of injuries and is now open to parting ways with the center-back, Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo reported.

Umtiti arrived at Barcelona from Lyon in the summer of 2016 and quickly made his mark in Camp Nou in his debut campaign. He managed to secure a regular spot in the first team, but after his first two seasons with the club, Umtiti dealt with injuries that hindered his promising progress.

The last time Umtiti played an active 20 plus games in a season for Barcelona was back in the 2017-18 season. Since then, the two-time La Liga champion has only been featured 38 times in Barca’s more than 150 games over the last three years.

Prior to the latest reports of his potential departure from Camp Nou, the 2018 World Cup champion lamented his downfall on social media.

According to Umtiti, he wishes he could go “back to the past,” possibly referring to the time when he was still a key figure at Barcelona.

“I wish I could go back to the past, not to change things, but to relive the time when I was happy and didn’t know it,” Umtiti wrote on one of his Instagram stories last year.