Barcelona could have used Samuel Umtiti in their offer to sign Manchester United attacking midfielder Donny van de Beek, according to reports in the Catalan media.

It is believed that the Dutchman was offered to the La Liga side after they lost out to Paris Saint-Germain for Liverpool’s Georginio Wijnaldum, but before United made their move for Real Madrid’s Raphael Varane.

Umtiti, who played a key role as France won the World Cup in 2018, is not part of Ronald Koeman’s first-team plans, and he may have been seen as a potential solution to strengthen United’s backline.

The 27-year-old has, though, suffered a succession of knee injuries over the past few years and it is likely that the Red Devils would have rejected the defender as part of any deal for van de Beek.

In terms of the Dutchman’s future, he has also been linked with Arsenal this summer, but most reliable journalists claim that manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is happy to keep him at Old Trafford despite being selected rarely during his first season at the club.