FC Barcelona loanee and French International Samuel Umtiti’s career has been quite a tragic one, as he fell from being one of the best defenders in Europe to being unable to find a club for himself. Currently on loan at Lecce, the defender has recovered some of his early career form, and things have improved significantly for him in Italy.
In the 2017-18 season, Samuel Umtiti was a defensive force to be reckoned with. His partnership with Pique was exceptional, and he was being touted as the next great defender for Barcelona, following highly illustrious names like Carles Puyol and Gerard Pique himself.
However, injuries wrecked his growth trajectory, and his decision to take a shortcut with recovery to appear in the 2018 Fifa World Cup turned out to be disastrous for his football career, despite him ending up winning the most prestigious prize in football.
In the following years, his skills declined rapidly, and he ultimately became a liability in defense for the team. This resulted in him getting fewer and fewer chances to be on the pitch, and the club getting desperate to offload him.
Ultimately, Lecce took a chance with the once formidable defender, and their risk has more than paid off. The player has started to look like his former self once again and has been a mainstay and leader in the Italian side’s defense.
However, as his loan with Lecce comes to an end, there is again uncertainty about his future. His performances in Italy have gone some way in convincing other European sides that Umtiti still has the skills to play at the top level, and Barcelona are expected to find more suitors for the defenders this time around.
However, FC Barcelona are not contemplating a return of the Frenchman to their team, and the only certainty about Umtiti’s future right now is that it lies away from the Catalan side according to a recent report from Matteo Moretto of RELEVO.
