Barcelona superstar Samuel Umtiti has refused to rule out a return to former club Lyon, either as a player or as a coach.
As quoted by Spanish publication Sport, Samuel Umtiti has revealed in an interview with Team Orange Football that he is open to making a return to former club Lyon in the future, either later in his playing career or as a coach, once he has retired.
Umtiti progressed through the ranks at Lyon before making his first-team debut in 2012. After four successful years with the senior side, the Frenchman came to be regarded as one of the most promising young defenders in the world before Barcelona secured his services in the summer of 2016.
At Barcelona, Umtiti has often delivered when he has taken to the field. But, in the last couple of seasons, his involvement has been greatly curtailed due to a series a knee injuries, which have also sent him down the pecking order.
This season, Umtiti has largely been healthy and is starting to win his place back in the first-team setup. However, his future has been the subject of intense speculation lately, with Arsenal among the clubs tailing him, although recent reports have claimed that the Gunners do not stand a chance of swooping him away from Barcelona.
The aforementioned reports have also stated that Umtiti would only consider a return to Lyon if he ever decided to part ways with Barcelona. Those claims have now been corroborated by the player himself, who has iterated in an interview with Team Orange Football (h/t Sport) that he would like to return to his former club one day.
“I’d like to be a coach. I take notes from those I’ve worked under, their training sessions and what they do. Returning to Lyon is a possibility, as a player or as a coach.”
Umtiti has not exactly put a time stamp on a possible return to Lyon, who have not shown any interest in their former defender. An imminent transfer, thus, is unlikely to happen, especially at a time when Umtiti is starting to re-establish himself as a regular at Barcelona.
One this is certain, though. We can expect Umtiti to represent Lyon sometime in the future, either as a player or as a coach, when he decides to call it quits at Barcelona.
