Fenerbache interested in one of Barcelona’s highest earners, selling him is a priority for Laporta

Heading into the January transfer window, one of the biggest priorities for Barcelona is to offload unwanted defender Samuel Umtiti.

The 28-year-old has been with the Blaugrana since 2016 when he arrived from French outfit Olympique Lyon. He enjoyed an impressive debut campaign at Camp Nou, but things have gone downhill for him ever since.

Umtiti has been bogged down by a chronic knee issue that has prohibited him from featuring regularly season after season. The 2018 FIFA World Cup winner has, thus, fallen way down the pecking order of things at Barça, who are desperate to get rid of him at the earliest opportunity.

Indeed, SPORT reports that getting the Frenchman, who is one of the highest earners at the club currently, off the books, is an absolute priority for president Joan Laporta.

And, Barcelona may have found a suitor for the 28-year-old, with Turkish giants Fenerbahce now showing an interest in signing the injury-prone centre-back. The Super Lig heavyweights are staring at the possibility of losing star defender Attila Szalai and are looking at Umtiti as a replacement.

Fenerbahce would be in a good position to cover a large part of Umtiti’s wages as well, which appeals to Barcelona. However, whether the defender agrees to move to Turkey remains the big question, after all, he had turned down Besiktas during the summer transfer window.

There had been interest in Umtiti from Benfica, but they ended their pursuit of the former Lyon star due to the finances involved. Clubs from France are also believed to be keeping tabs on the defender’s situation at Barça.

The Catalans were intent on selling Umtiti during the summer, but he convinced Laporta to hand him another chance. However, nothing has changed for the Frenchman, who has featured just one time across all competitions this season. Whether the Blaugrana are successful in their attempts to get rid of him this time remains to be seen.