Lyon president confirms agreement with Umtiti to join Barça

Olympique Lyon president, Jean Michel Aulas, has confirmed an existing agreement between the French club and central defender Samuel Umtiti, which will allow the player to join FC Barcelona.

In comments made to 'RMC Sport', Aulas said: "We anticipate the eventual departure of Umtiti. Samuel has an exclusive agreement for him to join Barcelona.

We made a promise that if he could play for the club of his heart, he would leave. It’s part of the commitment which we have made, as was done for Karim Benzema when he went to Real Madrid. 

Right now, Samuel is with Les Bleus and is focussed on the European Championships and the fact that he can play on Sunday against Iceland. If the three parties agree, it is possible that he will leave us.”

L'Equipe have reported that Barcelona and Lyon have agreed a 30 million euros fee for the 22-year-old France international, who has made 170 appearances for the French club since breaking into the first team in 2011. 

Earlier in the day, Lyon had announced the signing of defender Nicolas N'Koulou from Marseille, seen as a replacement for Umtiti.