It seems Samuel Umtiti getting the cold shoulder from the Catalan press didn’t last very long.
Both Mundo Deportivo and Sport had clearly become frustrated with the defender’s demands for a hefty new contract and last week there were claims of talks being put on hold, and the club potentially getting ready to sell the player and replace him with Clement Lenglet.
It’s blown over relatively quickly and Mundo Deportivo now report Barcelona have ‘activated all mechanisms’ to get Umtiti to sign his new contract. It’s unlikely the Frenchman will get the figures he was originally asking for, there’s going to have to be compromise.
Umtiti has already turned down two contract proposals and his own counter-proposal was rejected by Barcelona.
Despite the outbreak of peace, it would be no surprise if there’s some bumps in the road ahead. Barcelona don’t want Umtiti to ‘jump many salary levels’ at once and he believes he’s due a hefty rise.
Arriving from Lyon and being put on relatively modest wages, the promise was always that those wages would sharply rise once Umtiti had proven himself. It’s easy to understand why there’s annoyance and stubbornness on both sides.
