Barcelona Transfer News Roundup: Manchester United to make a big offer for Barca defender, Ousmane Dembele likely to play against Atletico Madrid and more - 4 February 2022
The January transfer window is over and Barcelona have significantly bolstered their attacking department over the past few weeks.
Barcelona will return to action this Sunday as they host Atletico Madrid in a high-profile La Liga encounter at the Camp Nou. The Catalans are currently fifth in the league table but will be looking to get back into the title race after making some big moves in the January transfer window.
Without further ado, let's take a look at the top stories involving Barcelona from 4 January 2022.
Barcelona to save upto €14 million due to Samuel Umtiti's injury
Samuel Umtiti has been a peripheral figure at Barcelona for a while now. The Frenchman was desperate to stay at the Camp Nou despite the Catalans' desire to offload him last summer. The 28 year old was then linked with multiple clubs including Arsenal during the January transfer window.
But in an interesting turn of events, Umtiti ended up signing a contract extension with Barcelona last month. It is understood the centre-back took a big paycut to help the club sign Ferran Torres on a permanent deal.
Unfortunately for Umtiti, he has now fractured his foot and has been sidelined for a while. According to SPORT, Barcelona are set to save upto €14 million because of that as a major portion of the player's wages is linked to the number of games he plays.
His wage package is almost entirely based on variable payments. Umtiti reportedly put pen to paper on the deal believing that he was going to regularly feature for Barcelona under Xavi Hernandez. He is now set to be unavailable at least until mid-April.
If Samuel Umtiti does not play, he doesn't earn as much. His new contract has lots of variables tied directly to the amount of matches that he plays. He took that risk, arguing that he would be able to start, but got injured. Barça could save up to €14m for his wages.
— @sport https://t.co/WwhBdWK8di
Ousmane Dembele expected to play against Atletico Madrid
It has been claimed over the past several weeks that Ousmane Dembele is set to be consigned to the sidelines for the remainder of the season. The Frenchman was told by Barcelona to find a new club in January after talks over a new contract fell apart.
Dembele failed to find a new club and will be at Barcelona until the end of the season and is very likely to leave in the summer as a free agent. According to Diario AS, Xavi Hernandez sees sidelining Dembele for the rest of the season as 'completely counter-productive'.
As per the report, Xavi and Joan Laporta have already agreed that Dembele will feature for Barcelona again this season. The report claims the 24 year old is likely to play against Atletico Madrid on Sunday.
Manchester United to make a big offer for Ronald Araujo in the summer
Barcelona centre-back Ronald Araujo has established himself as one of the best defenders at the club. The Uruguayan international's current deal will expire in the summer of 2023. Barcelona are keen to extend his contract but if they can't reach an agreement, they could be open to cashing in on him in the summer.
According to MARCA, Manchester United are interested in Araujo. The player is reportedly aware of the Red Devils' interest. Barcelona have been looking to extend Araujo's contract since the pandemic hit in 2020. However, they haven't been able to make a breakthrough due to their financial troubles.
Araujo's development has happened at a rapid pace and he is currently one of the most sought-after young centre-backs in Europe. In addition to Manchester United, the reigning Premier League champions Manchester City have also registered an interest in Araujo.
🚨🚨| Manchester United are very interested in signing Ronald Araújo this summer & are willing to make a great bid to FC Barcelona.
@Luis_F_Rojo [🎖️]