French international defender Samuel Umtiti, who took the crown at the 2018 World Cup in Russia and has been the victim of frequent injuries that have affected his level, will join Italy’s Lecce on a one-year loan from Barcelona, the two clubs announced on Thursday.
And the Catalan club has published on its official website that it has concluded with Lecce, recently relegated to the first division this season, “an agreement to loan a defender until June 30, 2023” without the possibility of a purchase.
The Italian club have confirmed that the 28-year-old former Lyon defender will arrive in Lecce on Thursday evening for a “scheduled medical examination”.
Barcelona wanted Umtiti to leave before the summer transfer window closes on September 1, in order to lower the top salary and be able to sign up the latter’s citizen, rookie defender Jules Conde.
The Umtiti loan deal came after Lecce club president Stiki Damiani announced on Saturday that he is closely looking into the situation with the French international defender looking to restart his career after a season in which he did not set foot in the green box due to his hit in the trap of frequent injuries.
According to Sky Sport Italia and Radio Lacope from Spain, an agreement was reached over the weekend, including the payment of the player’s salary by the Catalan club.
Umtiti grew up in Lyon before joining Barcelona in 2016. Despite the fragility of his knee, he played a major role at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, scoring the only winning goal against Belgium in the semi-finals.
Since then, the curse of injury has haunted him, and his appearances have gradually dwindled, while the defensive hierarchy at Barcelona has fallen into disrepair, as he only played an orphan match last season in December 2021. In January, he underwent surgery after he broke his leg.
Umtiti’s contract with Barcelona has been extended until 2026 as he knows he has not been involved with the Rooster team since June 2019 in a 0-2 defeat against Turkey.