Spanish football expert Guillem Balague has confirmed that Manchester United are interested in signing Barcelona defender Samuel Umtiti.
United have been linked with a move for the French defender, who has a fairly modest release clause of €60 million (£54m) in his contract. He is thought to be keen to stay at the Nou Camp, but also wants to massively increase his salary in line with some of the top earners at the club, Lionel Messi excluded of course.
Barcelona are thought to be unwilling to match his wage demands, something which Balague claims has halted negotiations:
“What is absolutely true at the moment is that Samuel Umtiti is playing a two-card game,” Balague told Sky Sports.
“On one hand he is telling Barcelona he would like to stay, but on the other he wants to treble his wages.
“It’s not normal for a player in their second season at Barcelona to renew their contract – which, coincidentally finishes in 2021 – just because Manchester United reportedly want to trigger his €60m buy-out clause.
“At this moment in time negotiations have stopped and right now Barcelona are less positive than they were in the past, but there is still a long way to go.”