Long-term Arsenal target, Samuel Umtiti is set to join Olympique Marseille after Barcelona got a club to take him on.
The injury-prone defender has been out of the first-team picture at Barcelona for some time now.
His poor injury record means he can hardly be relied on for long and Barca has been keen to sell him.
Umtiti has repeatedly been linked with a switch to Arsenal as the Gunners also struggle at the back.
However, it seems that they will lose the race for his signature to Marseille with Todofichajes reporting that the Ligue 1 side and Barca have been in talks over his transfer.
He will join them for an initial deal that would be made permanent at the end of next season should he stay fit for long enough.
Arsenal has been linked with a move for Ben White and Merih Demiral in this transfer window.
Both players are younger and have enjoyed better fitness records than Umtiti has.
But the Frenchman has a lot of experience and he even won the World Cup with France in 2018.
His injury history makes him too much of a risk to take for Arsenal and it would be interesting to see if Marseille signs him.
Long term injury target….🙄
Barca need to have a good look at their fitness/medical department their players keep getting injured.
The “target” that never was.