The arrival of Quique Setién at FC Barcelona last January to replace Ernesto Valverde did not end up supplying a great revolution -except in the first matches- regarding the line-ups, although it did take some role changes in the squad. One of them was in defense, where Samuel Umtiti gained prominence and ended up taking the center post.
With the Txingurri, Clément Lenglet was practically indisputable in the central axis next to Gerard Piqué, but the arrival of Setién put the Franco-Cameroonian ahead in important games. Despite the fact that Umtiti has not recovered that spectacular level that made him shine at his beginnings at the Camp Nou, he has experienced a hopeful improvement both in terms of physics and performance.
An improvement that keeps alert some teams that have their sights on him and that are considering his signing. According to the latest information published this week by the newspaper 'Sport', Naples showed great interest in the signing of Umtiti, who at 26 would be the favorite to occupy the position of Kalidou Koulibaly in the event that the latter left transferred to Paris Saint-Germain.
However, the great obstacle that Naples would have to gain the Barça defender has come out. As the Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport advances, the Neapolitan club considers that the economic dimensions that Umtiti's landing in San Paolo would reach would be too high for the entity's financial capacity right now.
To the price of the transfer, which could easily go up to 40 million euros, we must add the high tab that the Franco-Cameroonian receives since he signed the last contract extension. The salary and transfer costs together would make the operation too difficult to risk with a player who has been a couple of seasons without being 100% physically.
Barça want another central defender
It is no secret that FC Barcelona wants to incorporate a central defender to reinforce the team for next season. Players like Luiz Felipe (Lazio), Matthijs de Ligt (Juventus) or Diego Carlos (Seville) like sports management. However, it should not be ruled out that, given the priorities of the club -Neymar and Lautaro-, they bet on players who are already at home such as Todibo -in case Schalke does not keep it- or Ronald Araújo.