Barcelona sign Samuel Umtiti in £21million deal after Lyon defender impressed for France
BARCELONA have signed France defender Samuel Umtiti from Lyon in a £21million deal.
The youngster played in the Euro 2016 final defeat to Portugal after displacing veteran Adil Rami from the line-up.
He has agreed a five-year deal with the Catalan club and has a £51m release clause.
Barca have kept tabs on Umtiti, 22, as the left-sided centre-back racked up 170 games for the Ligue 1 outfit.
He can also play at left-back as has captained Lyon on several occasions despite his age.
Umtiti put in some impressive performances during the Euros after making his senior debut in the quarter-final win over Iceland.
The highly-rated talent will arrive in Barcelona on Thursday before completing his medical the following day.
Friday afternoon will see Umtiti sign his contract and be presented to fans and the media at the Nou Camp.
He will join fellow French international Jeremy Mathieu - who missed Euro 2016 through injury - in Spain.
Two Premier League clubs are battling it out to sign Arda Turan as Barca try to re-jig their squad for next seson.
The La Liga champions want to mix things up and are happy to let the Turkey star leave