Barcelona defender refuses to leave despite numerous offers

FC Barcelona have been trying to offload a number of players in order to slash their wage bill this season, but they have been largely unsuccessful. One player that had been up for sale but is still refusing to budge is Samuel Umtiti. Even though manager Ronald Koeman has not included him in his plans for the future, Umtiti is reportedly refusing to leave the club.

The Blaugrana are trying to cash in on the Frenchman, owing to the fact that he is one of the club's top earners. To make things worse, his constant injury troubles as of late have meant that the Catalan giants are unable to see a return on their investment in his wages.

Last Friday, Koeman once again confirmed that Umtiti will likely stay mostly on the bench if the club does not find a way to offload him in this summer. It is understood that several offers have come in for the defender, but he has so far rejected them in favour of another season at the Camp Nou.

According to Marca, Umtiti is determined to show Koeman that he still has something to contribute to the squad, and has been working hard during training to overcome his knee injury. At only 27 years old, Umtiti is confident that he can regain his fitness and become a valuable part of Koeman's roster once more.

The problem is, Barcelona's squad is currently packed with players after their inability to sell their surplus this summer. Gerard Pique, Eric Garcia, Ronald Araujo and Clement Lenglet are all available for Koeman to call up in the central defence.

Now that Pique and Jordi Alba have agreed to salary cuts, Umtiti might be forced to take a similar deal if he insists on staying at the Camp Nou. The club's current top earner, Antoine Griezmann, will also be approached by the club to propose a wage cut in the coming weeks. For now, instead of selling players below value, the club has shifted its strategy in order to slash the wage bill.