Samuel Umtiti sends a transfer message to Unai Emery, the boss of Arsenal

Samuel Umtiti told Arsenal that he was not planning to leave Barcelona this summer despite rumors that he would be transferred from Camp Nou.

The French central defender joined the Catalan club in 2016 from Lyon, but has often struggled to qualify for the first team and has played only 14 games in all competitions for Barcelona this season.

Arsenal manager Unai Emery would like to add options to his back row this summer, and would have identified Umtiti as a player he could try to join.

But Umtiti seemed to exclude the move and commit his future to Barcelona, ​​where he has a contract until 2023.

Talk in an interview with RTL France "I have a contract, I feel happy in Barcelona.The season has been complicated, but I will still be in Barcelona next season."

The news will be a disappointment for Emery, who will now look elsewhere on the transfer market to make the changes allowing the Gunners to improve their fifth place this season.

They also targeted the players of the Sampdoria duo Dennis Praet and Joachim Andersen, and with only 44 million pounds to spare, Emery knows that he will have to look for good deals rather than spending money for new ones. expensive signatures.

It is also likely to let a number of members of the first team leave the club. Sead Kolasinac and Shkodran Mustafi are just two examples of players who should move on before the start of next season.

It remains to be seen, in the meantime, whether Umtiti is able to enter the Barcelona team. Matthijs de Ligt, a young star from Ajax, is closely linked to a move, but his competition for a place could become even more intense. Gerard Pique and Clement Lenglet have generally preferred central defender Ernesto Valverde.