Samuel Umtiti Signing Shows How Poor Vermaelen, Mathieu Have Been for Barcelona

Barcelona's priority in 2016 has been clear: get the star names, who have helped them win a treble and a double in the past two seasons, nailed down for the long term.

That squad is among the world's finest, technically and in terms of their relentless ability to win matches, but every club looks to strengthen during the close season. Luis Enrique's team have been no different, with Denis Suarez already added to the squad and French defender Samuel Umtiti set to be the next signing.

Marca's Luis F. Rojo reported Barca will spend €25 million to sign Umtiti from Lyon, and while his quality will ensure it's likely a successful signing over the long term, the amount spent and the importance Barca have placed on capturing the right centre-back this summer is a damning indictment of the performances and reliability of others at the Camp Nou over the past couple of seasons.

Big club, big spend

Barcelona, one of the biggest clubs in the world, rarely have any trouble attracting players—but they do have a finite amount of resources. With no shirt sponsorship for next season as yet and a big renovation project to take into account on their stadium, money on the playing squad has to be spent well and on sound investments.

With that in mind, it's perfectly reasonable that the majority of their focus has been on renewing contracts of the current successful crop, with Neymar one of the biggest names—in any team—to be tied down long term.

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Marca confirmed on Friday that the Brazilian had sealed a new five-year deal, to be signed after the Olympics, and it's fair to imagine that Neymar will enjoy a significant wage rise among the terms of that new contract. 

Sergio Busquets signed an extension last season, and Marca's Ramiro Aldunate further reported that the club want Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi to commit their future next—again, big wage earners and likely with hefty loyalty bonuses to be included among other costs if and when the contracts are signed.

As money is diverted toward retaining current stars, less is naturally available for new signings—and Josep Maria Bartomeu's admission of a reasonably low amount available for investment is a sign of that.

Key spend

The total amount Barcelona can spend on transfers this summer is €60 million, plus any funds received from player sales, as Bartomeu revealed in a press conference.

Denis Suarez was a low-cost signing to cover the wide areas of the front line, so any big bids were going to have to cover key areas.

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A €25 million outlay on Umtiti takes up close to half of Barca's overall budget (42 per cent). Considering how the Catalans have spent over €70 million on left-sided and central defenders alone in the past four years—trying to find the right talents and balance in the squad to eventually take over from Javier Mascherano—it shows how desperate the situation remained.

It reflects extremely badly on two players in particular: Thomas Vermaelen and Jeremy Mathieu.

Dual role

Belgian Vermaelen has been unlucky with injuries, but given his history with enforced absences even before joining Barcelona, quite how much of it can be put down to mere luck is debatable.

Vermaelen started the 2015-16 season in the team and in good form, but once again it didn't last long thanks to his lack of physical resilience.

Mathieu is a different matter. At times in his two years at Barcelona, he has been a regular starter, an almost first choice and a good performer—but last term as a whole was largely awful for the Frenchman.

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His introduction and terrible performance against Villarreal sparked the late-season decline that almost saw them lose La Liga title and did see them exit the UEFA Champions League, and he barely featured after the debacle at El Madrigal.

Mathieu missed out on Euro 2016 with France as a result of injury and poor performances, and at 32, he's clearly past his best and was overpriced when Barca signed him from Valencia.

Umtiti, a left-sided defender in the centre who can also play at full-back, will compete with (or, more probably, take the place of) these two in Luis Enrique's order of defenders, trying to win game time from Mascherano's spot in the team.

It likely means a sale of one of them or possibly both, though Mathieu could remain thanks to his ability to cover left-back. Umtiti could also play in that role if needed, though it's not a position he featured in last season, and he is clearly coming to the Camp Nou with the intention of partnering Gerard Pique.

Bartra mistake?

Selling Marc Bartra to Borussia Dortmund brought in around €8 million for Barca, but Dani Alves departed on a free. There aren't too many other big names who might leave this summer and bring in significant fees.

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While Bartra didn't feature much last year, he's clearly an excellent defender when given a run in the team, and it will be no surprise to see him excel at BVB in 16-17.

Naturally, game time was the biggest factor in his departure, but with Umtiti, Vermaelen and Mathieu all being naturally left-sided players, questions have to be asked over whether selling the latter two instead of Bartra might have been the better decision—especially since there is no right-sided defender in place to cover Pique now.

Mascherano could slide across, Busquets could filter back, but neither is naturally inclined to play that role or position.

It's another question mark against the longer-term intentions and team-building of Barcelona, and they'll be hoping the decision to spend big on Umtiti is rewarded with more reliability and longevity than either of their other two French-speaking defenders have managed to offer.

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