It is evident that Samuel Umiti has no future at Barcelona. The 29-year-old defender will return to Catalonia following the end of his loan tenure with Lecce and although the Barça management is quite pleased with his performances in Italy, there is simply no way that the team can accommodate him next season.
The Frenchman’s future has been in limbo for quite a long time. Ever since his move to Italy, it was made clear that he would be sold but up until today, there are no concrete offers on the table.
However, the player recently spoke on the subject and he mentioned that there is a slight possibility that he might move back to his former club Olympique Lyonnais.
In an interview with Canal Plus, the footballer said that he has been talking with former Lyon teammate and current captain Alexandre Lacazette and the two want to end their careers while playing together.
“We really talked about the fact that we would like to play together again before the end of our careers. It is still too early to say,” the defender was quoted by SPORT.
It must be noted that Umtiti made himself available to Lyon last summer under the same contract that he is playing with at Lecce. As it turns out, the Ligue 1 side decided to turn down the proposal as they believed the player’s physical condition was not up to the mark.
But now that he has recovered, having made 22 appearances across all competitions for the Italian side, the doors to rejoin Lyon might open up and this could culminate in an emotional homecoming.
Interestingly enough, Umtiti also commented that he made the right choice by joining Lecce and he is very grateful to the team for the time they gave him to recover.
“Everyone thought that my career was over, but I came to Italy to recover and feel good as a footballer so that I could reach the heights again. Lecce has been a springboard in which I have felt very good and I have been able to show things,” he concluded.
The Serie A outfit are prepared to make an effort to sign him permanently for €4 million, if they survive relegation.
There has also been interest from clubs like Inter Milan, AC Milan, and AS Roma. So, it remains to be seen what the future holds for the Barcelona outcast.