€60m French star ready to snub Manchester United in favour of Chelsea – could be Enrique’s first signing for Blues

Samuel Umtiti is prepared to snub Manchester United in favour of joining us, according to Don Balon. Antonio Conte’s future at Stamford Bridge is a subject of speculation and it will be surprising if the Italian is our manager beyond this season.

Our defence of the Premier League title has been less than impressive and we are currently in the fifth position in the standings, which also casts doubts over our inclusion in the Champions League next season. Judging by the way that we have been playing since the start of 2018, you would back Tottenham to finish in fourth place.

In addition to being at odds with our board, our results will not help Conte’s chances of being our manager beyond this season.

One of the men who is being strongly linked with our managerial position in the event that Conte departs is former Barcelona boss Luis Enrique.

Enrique has reportedly informed our clubs chiefs that one of the men who he would like to sign during the summer is Umtiti. At 24 years of age, the €60m-rated Umtiti certainly has a lot of talent and his best days are still ahead of him. He could be the perfect long-term replacement for David Luiz, who has struggled with injury problems this season.

Since joining Barcelona from Lyon in 2016, Umtiti has developed into one of the finest centre-backs in world football and he is yet to sign a new contract with the Spanish giants, which has led to his future being made the subject of speculation.

However, Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho will be likely to fork out heavily to bolster his midfield and defence during the summer. Hence, we could face strong competition from the Red Devils, especially since they could be planning to part ways with Chris Smalling and Phil Jones during the summer.

The Frenchman will be a perfect signing for us if we manage to pull this off.