Great things were expected from 2018 World Cup winner Samuel Umtiti, but he is fighting against relegation from Serie A with Lecce five years later. Nevertheless, the Frenchman is happy, he says in an interview.
Umtiti regains happiness in Italy
“I just wanted to feel valued, valued and respected. In Catalonia I spent four years in prison: not only in sporting terms, but also in everyday life,” Umtiti said firmly to Canal+. “When I just came to Barcelona I tasted respect, but soon I felt distrust. I felt bad, and realised no one believed in me anymore.”
The year on the Via del Mare in southern Italy has been good for him, says Umtiti. “It was a challenge for me. It’s good, I’ve found my smile again and I’m grateful to the people here for that,” he said. Still, his future is probably not with the red-yellow club, although a return to Barcelona is not the only option.
“For now I’m focusing on enforcement, but Alexandre Lacazette came along a while ago, my friend. We thought it would be fun to play together before we stop playing football.” Then Umtiti has to go to Olympique Lyon, where Lacazette recently played again. The striker recently confirmed their wish and said that playing together with Umtiti would be “a dream” for him.
With two games left, Lecce has good papers for enforcement. The team is sixteenth, three points above the feared line. Spezia (31 points) and Hellas Verona (30) can still catch up with Lecce. The two teams below have already been officially relegated. Lecce is still playing away at Monza and at home against Bologna.
Chelsea loanee forgets he is still contracted to the Blues
We shift our focus to another loanee from a big club, Levi Colwill, who had to be reminded after securing European football with Brighton that he is still under contract with Chelsea.
That was the top 20-year-old talent, who has been linked with clubs such as Manchester City and Liverpool, momentarily slipped by when he spoke to The Athletic. “I forgot for a while,” said the defender, after which he spoke nice words about the trainer of the club for which he will play on a rental basis this season.
“When Roberto De Zerbi came in in September, he changed things,” said Colwill, who is on payroll in London until mid-2025. “His mentality as a coach is world class and he is definitely going to be one of the best managers in the world. If he isn’t already one of them.”
Should Colwill be used by Chelsea next season as a first-team player, he will miss out on European football. The Blues have now dropped to 12th place in the Premier League.
