Barcelona intend to use two star players as bargaining chip for Lautaro Martinez and more: Barcelona Transfer News Roundup, 9th December 2019
Hello and welcome to Sportskeeda's Barcelona transfer news and roundup for the day! The Catalans are leading the league table, joint on points with Real Madrid. Even then, however, there seems to be room for improvement in the team and the Catalans are sure to do some deals in the future.
With that in mind, here are the top stories for the day surrounding the Catalans!
Manchester City considering move for Samuel Umtiti
Manchester City’s season is just going from bad to worse in the Premier League. The Citizens are 14 points behind Liverpool and lost their recent match at home against Manchester United.
The underlying problem with the Catalans has been defence as the Citizens opted to start the season with three centre-backs. With Aymeric Laporte out injured, City are having to play with a makeshift backline, something that has not worked too well for them.
Also read: Dortmund adamant Sancho won't be sold in January
As a result, according to L’Equipe (via GFFN), Pep Guardiola’s side are considering a move for France defender Samuel Umtiti. The Frenchman’s regular problems with his knee has allowed Clement Lenglet to become the first-choice centre-back at the Camp Nou.
With limited football time, he could be in danger of missing out of France’s squad for Euro 2020. Meanwhile, City are reportedly worried about the state of Umtiti’s knee.
Barcelona to discuss possible move for Lautaro Martinez with Inter
Barcelona are set to have discussions with Inter regarding a move for Lautaro Martinez with Ivan Rakitic and Arturo Vidal going to the other side.
Inter have both Vidal and Rakitic high in the list of potential targets, according to Marca, and Barcelona intend to use that as a bargaining tool for Martinez, a player who has been on Barcelona's radar for a while now.