Barcelona defender Samuel Umtiti seemingly has no fear of upsetting any outside sources as he has openly discussed a potential transfer target.
The Catalan giants secured the La Liga title and Copa del Rey double this past season, with coach Ernesto Valverde enjoying a successful start to life on the sidelines at the Nou Camp.
In order to sustain that level of success, it will be interesting to see if Barcelona opt to make any significant moves in the transfer market, with one rumour in particular refusing to go away.
As noted by ESPN, Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann has long been linked with a €100m move to join Barcelona, as per the release clause in his contract, and now compatriot Umtiti has very directly opened the door for him to join him at the Nou Camp.
“He’s a fantastic player and we all know his qualities,” he is quoted as saying by Mundo Deportivo. “In any group he would be important. At Barcelona he could suit us very well.”
Should Griezmann complete a move to Barcelona this summer, it would raise an obvious question as to how Valverde would fit him in.
The Spanish tactician would either have to find a way to place him in the line-up alongside the likes of Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi, Ousmane Dembele and Philippe Coutinho, or find a balance in his rotation to keep them all happy and heavily involved in the pursuit of major honours.
In turn, while Umtiti is right in his assessment that Griezmann is a top player, as demonstrated by his 29 goals and 15 assists in 49 games to help win the Europa League and claim second place in La Liga for Atleti, the 27-year-old could make life tricky for the Barcelona coach if he were to arrive too.