The Catalans are looking to free up their wage bill, and hence they could offload midfielder Miralem Pjanic and defender Samuel Umtiti. According to several reports, both the players are surplus to requirements for the club as they do not fit in Ronald Koeman’s system.
Umtiti joined the club five years ago from Lyon and has been a defensive stalwart for the Catalans. However, the Frenchman suffered persistent injuries, and that brought him down the pecking order. He played only 13 matches last season, proving that Koeman did not prefer him. With Eric Garcia’s arrival, Koeman will be looking to promote the Spain international even more in the upcoming season. Hence leaving Umtiti for free looks like a logical option.
Pjanic moved to Barcelona last summer from Juventus. The club paid a hefty fee of £55 million to rope in the 31-year-old midfielder. The deal also saw Brazilian midfielder Arthur Melo going the other way. However, despite Pjanic’s quality and vision with the ball, he does not fit in Koeman’s system. Hence the Bosnian will also be offloaded this summer with several Premier League clubs interested in the former Juventus man. Pjanic, just like Umtiti, featured in 13 La Liga matches and out of them started only six games.
Offloading the duo is of prime importance for Barcelona, but the process won’t be easy. Pjanic has a three-year contract left with the Catalans, whereas Umtiti has another two years remaining. Therefore Barcelona will have to negotiate with both the players and reach a middle ground. Barca will hope they accept the compensation, but if they don’t, then the club will have to pay them the full salary for their remaining contract.
For now, the primary target for Barca will be to tie up Lionel Messi to a new contract. For that, they will need to free up some of their hefty wage bills. The Catalans have already worked out some more departures as Trincao joins Wolves on loan. Earlier, Jean Claire Todibo and Juan Miranda have also departed Camp Nou on loan.
Blaugrana have also signed some solid players this summer like Memphis Depay, Sergio Aguero, and Eric Garcia on free transfer with fullback Emerson Royal joining from Real Betis.
