Barcelona are said to be eyeing Arsenal and France star Laurent Koscielny as a potential replacement for current star Samuel Umtiti.
Umtiti found himself on the bench more often than not for Barca last year, with Ernesto Valverde opting to start fellow Frenchman Clement Lenglet over the former Lyon man on almost all occasions.
And according to recent reports, it seems like Umtiti could be off this summer, as Don Balon are stating that either Umtiti or Lenglet are going to have leave the club this summer, with the club eyeing up Koscielny as a replacement for the star that does end up leaving.
The report also notes that Barca could sign Koscielny for around €10M, a fair price to pay for a player who isn’t going to be a regular starter.
During the 2017/18 season, Umtiti established himself as one of the best defenders on the planet, with the player’s performances proving to play a big role in Barca winning yet another La Liga title.
Umtiti’s form even saw him earn a starting place in France’s side for the 2018 World Cup, a tournament which Les Bleus went on to win, with Umtiti even scoring the winner against Belgium in the semi finals.
If Umtiti does end up leaving this summer, it seems as if the club will target Koscielny as a means of replacing the World Cup-winner.
The Arsenal star seems to have gone on strike with the Gunners recently, after he refused to travel with he rest of the club’s squad to the USA for their pre-season tour as per the Metro.
Thus, given this, it seems like the Blaugrana won’t have much trouble persuading Koscielny to leave Arsenal should they end up going for him this summer.
