Barcelona’s Umtiti signs loan deal with Lecce

Defender, Samuel Umtiti, has officially signed a loan deal with Italian club, Lecce, for the 2022/2023 campaign, according to Barcelona.

The Frenchman, who was once regarded as one of the top centre backs in the world and is still only 28 years old, arrived at Camp Nou in 2016 after leaving Lyon and quickly established himself as a key player on a Barcelona team that would go on to win two La Liga championships.

But, the World Cup champion was plagued by injuries, with a knee issue posing the most serious threat. As a result, players like Ronald Araujo, Eric Garcia, Andreas Christensen, and Jules Kounde have taken his place in central defence at Camp Nou.

Umtiti will be on loan at Serie A’s bottom feeders, Lecce, who will cover a small portion of his projected €20 million gross annual salary and Barcelona have confirmed there is no permanent buy option at the end. Each time he participates, Barca will also get a bonus.

Lecce has fluctuated between Serie A and Serie B recently, but last season they won the lower division and were promoted to the top level, where they have already lost their first two games.