While Barca managed to secure a top-four finish, and therefore, seal a place in theUEFA Champions League again, the club wants to restore its high standards by winning a trophy next season. The problem is the financial situation continues to be delicate.

That’s what preventing Barca from securing the signing of Robert Lewandowski or Bernardo Silva, for instance. But it seems that the Cules could find a solution this summer by offloading one of the most expensive contracts in the roster.

Report: Barcelona to part ways with Samuel Umtiti this summer

According to Sport, Barcelona will finally part ways with Samuel Umtiti this offseason. The French defender joined the club in the summer of 2016 for $27.50 million after making an impression with Olympique Lyon.

But his stint at Camp Nou turned out to be a huge disappointment. Umtiti never performed as expected and spent a long time on the sidelines due to injury, which is why Barca have been trying to get rid of him for so long.

His massive contract has been a stumbling block in the club’s attempts to find him a new home. While Barcelona couldn’t afford the termination of his deal, no other club was willing to pay what Umtiti was making. Fortunately, the club would solve this situation once and for all this time.

The report claims that Barcelona will let Umtiti leave whether it’s by sending him on loan elsewhere or by rescinding his deal. Umtiti accepted a contract extension earlier this year to help the club spread his salary in different years. Consequently, it wouldn’t be as hard as before to release him.

Umtiti reportedly has twosuitors in the Ligue 1. One option for the center-back would be to go back to Olympique Lyon on loan, while Nice would also be interested in his services but only if he arrives as a free agent.

However, things would neverturn out as expected between Umtiti and the Catalans. Even though he did get off to a decent start at Camp Nou, injuries would eventually catch up with the center-back after he signed a lucrative contract extension until2023.

Umtiti ended up spending more time on the sidelines than on the field and his salary became a burden for Barca, who have been desperate to find him a new home. However, as much as the club wants him gone, it has decided to extend his deal to 2026 instead.

Here’s why Samuel Umtiti signed a new Barcelona contract

While Barcelona struggle to find suitors for the French center-back, they needed to immediately reduce the wage bill.The ideal scenario for Barca would have been to sell him to another club or, at least, let him leave on loan.

But as none of those options seemed possible, they found another way to lessen the impact his salary has on their budget. By extending Umtiti’s contract to 2026 without a raise, Barcelona are able to spread out how much he receives each season, freeingup space in their salary cap this year.

That has enabled the Cules to register Ferran Torres, who has recently made the move to Camp Nou from Manchester City. So, now Umtiti is tied to Barca for another four years and a half but it looked like the best possible solution to register their latest signing fast. This probably won’t change Umtiti’s role, though, as Barcelona would still try to move on him this month or in the summer.

But it looks like they are slowly getting back on track. The Spanish manager has received his first good news since he took over at Camp Nou with Ferran Torres making his way to Barca from Manchester City, and more positive things could be just around the corner.

With the winter transfer window drawing nearer, Barcelona will try to get rid of a group of players in order to raise funds and reduce the wage bill. Fortunately, Newcastle could help them do that.

Report: Newcastle interested in Barcelona player

According to The Sun, The Magpies are willing to spend£17 million ($22.8m) to land Samuel Umtiti. This would be fantastic for the Cules, given that they’ve been trying to move on theFrench center-back for a long time.

Umtiti has fallen short of expectations since he moved to Spain and his mind-blowing salary became a burden for the Blaugrana, who failed to find a destination for him last summer.

Whether Newcastle will actually make a push for Umtiti remains to be seen, but what’s for certain is that his future will no longer be in Barcelona. It lookslike it willbe a matter of time for the club to finally part ways with the expensive, outcast center-back.

The winter transfer market opens at the start of the new year and according to multiple reports all four of these players are the subject of loans and transfers. Now two reports from Spain have surfaced indicating the opposite of what has been reported for weeks now.

According to Mundo Deportivo, Sergiño Dest flat out does not want to leave Barcelona at this time, and Sport has reported that Samuel Umtiti is in the same boat. Xavi, who needs to retune his squad has very little wiggle room in the transfer window, unless the club adds by subtracting, and things just don’t seem to be any calmer at Barcelona.

Sergiño Dest and Samuel Umtiti want to stay at Barcelona amid transfer rumors

In the case of Sergiño Dest, the American has played 12 games in LaLiga with 3 assists and has a contract until 2025 at the club. Xavi reportedly was not too fond of Dest’s tactical approach to the game and Dest was on the bench against Osasuna. In the last game Dest played for Xavi he was inexplicably placed as a winger/ forward.

Samuel Umtiti on the other hand has played only 1 game this season, against Osasuna, and is on contract until next season. Umtiti will have a conversation with club President Joan Laporta about his future at the club, although the French international would like to see his contract out.

Dest and Umtiti are just two new names in a list of players that could find their way out of Barcelona soon, the club is keen to loan or transfer players they deem expendable. The issue gets more complex when the question of who comes in to replace them is raised. Xavi has yet to find a team that plays his style properly and reports coming out of Spain talk about aging talents coming in to replace players at the peak of their careers. Xavi was supposed to bring calm to Barcelona, the club has played progressively worse under the new manager.

A report stated the Spanish manager has already given the green light for the departures of three big-name players after his side fell to a disastrous defeat at the hands of Bayern Munich in Germanywhich resulted in a third-place finish in Group E.

It’s never been a secret that Xavi was appointed to conductrebuild after Ronald Koeman‘s disappointing spell, but this chaotic situation may forcehim to make harsh decisions just a few months into his tenure. Sport reportsthat time is up for three other players – with only one of them having a possibility to prove everyone wrong.

Samuel Umtiti

A name that Barcelona havetried to get rid of for a long time but were unable to do so due to his expensive salary and lack of interested teams. Samuel Umtiti has not played a single minute for the Cules this season and that will probably not change even with Xavi at the helm.

Finding a destination for him might be an extremely tough task for the club, which won’t have other option but to rescind his deal if they want him gone. Then again, that would cost them a lot of money – something the club lacks right now.

Luuk de Jong

He’s not been at the club for as many years as Umtiti, yet his days at Camp Nou would already be numbered. Luuk de Jong was a quite strange, last-minute signing the Catalans have made while they moved on Antoine Griezmann.

The move didn’t make sense except for Ronald Koeman’s interest in his fellow Dutchman striker, who has previously performed well for Sevilla. But de Jong’s performances at the Blaugranahave left a lot to be desired and his experience wouldn’t last more than six months.

Philippe Coutinho

The report also cites former Liverpool star Philippe Coutinho, who after nearly four years in Barcelona has never looked like the player who shone in the Premier League – and who cost El Blaugrana $148.50 million.

However, his would be a different case. Xavi reportedly sees potential in him and trusts that Coutinho can still get back to his best version once and for all. But the club’s hierarchy might be concerned with his massive contract and disappointing level. So, it remains to be seen if he can change their opinion by the end of the month.

One of the fans climbed onto the car while Umtiti was trying to pull out, this forced the French international to stop his car in the middle of the street and confront the “fans” who were jumping and singing as he came out of the vehicle.

Umtiti who tried to sway the fans to move out of his way by hitting the horn of his car to little effect, when he did come out of the car the unruly Barcelona fans seemed to calm down, only to ask for a picture.

Samuel Umtiti demands respect from unruly fans

When Samuel Umtiti did finally confront one of the fans, he asked the person who was still trying to take a video of the player, “Do you know what respect is?” and pointed to his car and asked, “are you going to pay for it (the damages)?”

Incredibly when Umtiti returned to his car the same group continued to rag and scream in the defender’s direction. The way the fans behaved has been condemned by much of the Spanish media and Umtiti kept his cool under the circumstances.

The new head coach is facing a hugechallenge early in his managerial career with his beloved club stuck in a financial crisis and sitting in a tough spot just a few months into the 2021-22 season.

Barca aren’t where they’d want to be in the La Liga tableand their start to the Champions League campaign has also left much to be desired. But with Xavi there’shope again at Camp Nou, even for players whose days would be numbered if it weren’t for the new coach.

Barcelona flop would have no future at Camp Nou unless Xavi thinks otherwise

One of the reasons why Barca have struggled so bad over the last few seasons was their signings. Los Cules splashed the cash for players who have significantly fallenshort of expectations, and some of them are still in their squad.

Their efforts to get rid of them in the summer were unsuccessful, which is why, for instance, Samuel Umtiti continues at the club. According to Sport, however, Barcelona aim to rescind his contractonce and for all in January.

After being limited to just 16 appearances last season,the French center-back has not played a single minute in the 2021-22 whilethe club wants to offload his expensive salary. But with Xavi there could be an opportunity of redemption for the 28-year-old.

The new boss’ message from the beginning was very clear: everyone would be considered regardless of their previous situations. So, it remains to be seen whether Xavi will actually give Umtiti a chance before the winter transfer window.

Both the Spaniard and Los Cules’ fans were eagerly waiting for this moment as it seemed like a matter of time before they were together again. But the emotional welcome is already part of the past and it’s time to work to get Barca back on track.

El Blaugrana need to bounce back fast from a weak start to the La Liga and the UEFA Champions League, and even though things may not change overnight, the club may have to make some modificationssooner rather than later. That’s why Xavi would letsix players leave in winter.

Report: Xavi would let six players leave Barcelona in January

It’s rebuild time for Barcelona again. Another manager has failed to restore success at the club and Xavi will have the task to bring back glory days to Barca, where a number of players could see their way out soon.

According to Jose Alvarez of Spanisht TV show El Chiringuito, Xavi will put the following playersup for sale: Neto, Clement Lenglet, Samuel Umtiti, Philippe Coutinho, Martin Braithwaite, and Luuk de Jong.

It wouldn’t be a surprise to see any of them packing their bags in a few months as their spell with Los Cules left a lot to be desired, especially considering that Barcelona spent more than €200mfor all of them during Josep Maria Bartomeu‘s tenure.

Many of these players have been given countless opportunities to prove their worth and turn things around. But Barcelona can’t keep on wasting time and Xavi knows it very well, as he’ll try to deliver results from day one.

OnceJosep María Bartomeu‘s presidency came to an endit became quite clear how delicate thefinancial situation atCamp Nou was. Joan Laporta now has to face a challenging outlook as the club can’t afford big signings and is also spending huge salaries for players that rarely see the pitch.

Therefore, following the arrivals of Eric García, Sergio Aguero, Memphis Depay, and Emerson, it’s time for Barca to get rid of a number of players not only to relieve their expenses but also to make space in their squad. According to Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona will rush to offload these two players in the next few days:

Miralem Pjanic

In what has been a strange swap deal, Miralem Pjanic set foot at Camp Nou from Juventus while Arthur moved in the opposite direction last summer. The Bosnian, however, has never established himself in the starting eleven and his future seems to be no longer in Barcelona.

His first season with the Cules didn’t work as expected as he sat out most of the games and saw how the likes of Ilaix Moriba and other youngsters were ahead of him for Koeman. Now he is reportedly discussing a potential return to Juventus, who could advancein the upcoming days to seal his arrival.

Samuel Umtiti

Five years after acquiring himfrom Olympique Lyon, Barcelona are trying to find suitors forSamuel Umtiti, according to the Spanish outlet. The Frenchman has barely been involved in the first team in2020/21 and seems to have no room in Koeman’s plans.

His exit seems more complicated, though, as he is yet to find an interested team that meets his requirements, unlike Pjanic who is not only linked with Juve but also willing to join them regardless of a pay cut.

Ronald Koeman has been under heavy fire during his first year at the helm of the Cules, where he even was on the verge of the sack as his team struggled in the Spanish top-flight and the Champions League. This time, he will try to make a better job to get Barca back on track.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will now face a crucial campaign in charge of the Red Devils following another trophyless season at Old Trafford. Both teams are looking to get back to glory days, and reports from Spain state they couldmake a deal thatbenefits both parties.

Manchester United player ‘offered’ to Barcelona

According to Mundo Deportivo, Donny van de Beek has been offered to Barcelona. The Dutchman arrived at Manchester last summer as one of the biggest signings of the transfer window, yet he couldn’t live up to expectations so far.

van de Beek, 24, struggled to earn a place in the starting eleven as he faced fierce competition in his position with Paul Pogba, Bruno Fernandes,and Fred frequently ahead of him. Solskjaer, however, has constantly expressed that van de Beek was on his plans.

Nonetheless, the Spanish outlet reportedthat he was made available for the Cules. After Georginio Wijnaldum suddenly turned down their offer to join PSG, Barca are stillwaiting to strengthen that position. Butthey do not have the money to afford van de Beek and they could have only two ways to make the deal come true: either agreeing on a loan move or offering a player in exchange.

What Barcelona would offer for van de Beek

Barcelona’s delicate financial situation would prevent them from moving forward with any signing. Their only ways to sign players seem to be either landing free agents- such asSergio Aguero, Eric Garcia, and Memphis Depay – or reaching other kinds of agreements such as loan moves or trades.

Therefore, it’s no surprise to hear the rumors of Antoine Griezmann‘s return to Atleticoin exchange for Saul, but now that the negotiations seem to be stalled, van de Beek has emerged as another option to boost the midfield. Mundo Deportivo stated that Barca would consider including Samuel Umtiti in the deal, yet it seems unlikely that the Red Devils accept it.

Raphael Varane is understood to be United’s priority target to upgrade the defense, and even though they might consider sending van de Beek to Barca,they’ll probably study other options rather than receiving Umtiti.