Samuel Umtiti has failed to feature in two consecutive matches for Barcelona for more than a year and has made only 10 appearances for the club since last September.
The centre-back has been left out of the France squad for November’s international break and was not included in Barcelona’s squad for their friendly against FC Cartagena on Wednesday.
Umtiti’s situation gets attention on the front page of Sport and they explain there’s ‘concern’ about his fitness at the Camp Nou.
There’s fear at Barcelona that Umtiti could become the new Thomas Vermaelen. The Belgian spent five seasons at the club, but he hardly featured for them because of injury woes.
Umtiti had part of a meniscus removed from his right knee when he was 17 and that issue resurfaced again. Barca doctors advised him to go under the knife, but he opted for a conservative treatment to play in the World Cup with France.
Umtiti has publicly admitted he doesn’t regret it, which led to more displeasure from those at Barcelona. The frustration is even more because the centre-back signed an improved deal in June 2018.
Ernesto Valverde has Gerard Piqué and Clement Lenglet as the first choice centre-backs, but he lacks reliable back-up for the duo.
If Umtiti’s fitness issues are not resolved, Barcelona could bring in a replacement next summer and Sport states they are already looking for potential targets in the Bundesliga.
Umtiti will have time until the end of the season to prove whether or not Barca can rely on him. His immediate test will be against Borussia Dortmund, especially with Piqué suspended for the clash.
