Barcelona officially announce €25m signing to solve defensive issue

FC Barcelona
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Barcelona have announced the signing of France defender Samuel Umtiti from Lyon in a deal reportedly worth €25m.

The 22-year-old will put pen-to-paper on a five-year contract at the Nou Camp, and has a buy-out clause of €60m inserted into the deal, as noted in an official statement from the club on their website.

Barca add that the French international will arrive in the city on Thursday and will undergo his medical on Friday morning before officially signing his contract.

Umtiti made his international debut at Euro 2016 in the quarter-final clash with Iceland, and went on to keep his place in the starting line-up to play in both the semi-final and final against Germany and Portugal respectively.

While the tournament ended in disappointment for the hosts, Umtiti proved his quality at international level and further established his reputation as being one of the most promising defenders in Europe.

Now his focus will be on continuing to improve and develop his game at the Nou Camp, with Barca making an important signing with regards to their defence.

Luis Enrique and coaches before him have been forced into using Javier Mascherano as a central defender, while the likes of Thomas Vermaelen and Jeremy Mathieu have struggled with injuries.

As a result, the Catalan giants will hope that Umtiti’s arrival will give them a reliable and consistent option in the heart of the defence alongside Gerard Pique, and will in turn give them the platform required to go out and continue to win trophies.

As noted by ESPN FC, the fee of €25m shows how important the club see him being to their future, and they will hope that he enjoys several successful years in Spain moving forward.

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