Paris Saint-Germain have identified Barcelona defender Samuel Umtiti to replace Thiago Silva, who is out of contract at the club this summer.
Brazilian defender Silva has racked up over 300 first-team appearances for the Parisians but is out of contract this summer and has yet to pen a new deal, while Thomas Meunier and Layvin Kurzawa are other defenders at the club whose contracts are expiring.
Diario Sport now cite Onze Mundial as saying they have identified France international Umtiti as a direct replacement for Silva.
A report last month in Diario Sport claimed the central defender is keen to fight for his place in the Barcelona first-team and is confident Quique Setien trusts in him.
Umtiti is said to be comfortable both in the city and at the club, where he is valued by the dressing room heavyweights and has a good relationship with his teammates, several of whom he plays alongside at international level for France.
Umtiti has a contract with Barça until 2023 with a termination clause of €500m – although it is likely that the club would negotiate a sale far below that valuation, and before the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic he was valued at €50m.
It follows a recent report in Diario Sport, saying that Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United are looking for a left-sided central defender and there are not many options in the transfer market, with the trio making contacts for Umtiti.
The Catalan giants signed the player for €25m from Olympique Lyonnais in 2016 and they see the Premier League as an ideal destination for the central defender.
The France international has been struggling with a persistent knee injury for the past year, with the club alternating between treatments in order to solve the issue.
After the issued was flagged up by club doctors back in November 2018, he underwent a period of rehabilitation in Qatar, before undergoing minor surgery back in Spain.
The Blaugrana are said to have been more persistent for the defender to get full surgery on the issue, while the player instead opted to go for more conservative treatments.
The Cameroon-born defender, who has lost his place in the France international side with Clement Lenglet – his Barca teammate – often preferred in both line-ups, while Gerard Pique is still first choice central defender.
