Manchester United to make ‘significant’ effort to sign Barcelona in summer transfer window

By TalkSports' Jake Bacon

Manchester United are planning to make a ‘significant’ effort to sign Barcelona defender and French international Samuel Umtiti this summer.

Umtiti has struggled with knee injuries for almost two years, and finds himself behind Gerard Pique and Clement Lenglet in the pecking order at the Nou Camp.

Spanish outlet Sport say Barcelona need to raise £118million in player sales in the summer transfer window.

And the LaLiga giants believe they can get a hefty fee for Umtiti, whose contract runs until 2023

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Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer looks set to be handed a big summer budget as he continues his rebuild at Old Trafford.

And Umtiti could be an ideal partner for United captain Harry Maguire, who has impressed since joining the Red Devils from Leicester last summer.

Meanwhile,Arsenal have been long-term admirers of Umtiti.

Gunners boss Mikel Arteta is likely to strengthen his backline before the start of next season with David Luiz, Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Shkodran Mustafi failing to show consistency.

A potential big-money sale of Umtiti could see Barcelona bring in new recruits over the summer.
It is understood the Catalans could not afford to re-sign Neymar from Paris Saint-Germain last year after previously splashing a combined total of £238million on Ousmane Dembele and Philippe Coutinho.

Both players have struggled for form in Spain with Dembele sidelined due to a long-term hamstring injury and Coutinho out on loan at Bayern Munich.