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Samuel Umtiti

ryantegan

Block 33 Season Ticket holder :)
Jun 28, 2009
6,014
17,841
Been told by two people that we are trying to do something with him.
Think he was the fella who scored at the lane?!?!?
 

Holtby City

Active Member
May 15, 2013
375
558
Well we have good previous with French-Cameroon left-backs.

Of all the ones we've been linked with, this actually makes the most sense in terms of our transfer strategy - young, good value (£6-7m bracket cf Shaw) and versatile (5th CB as well as 1st LB).

Has the Graham Carr seal of approval too (i.e. Newcastle are all over him as well)
 

Holtby City

Active Member
May 15, 2013
375
558
Poor technique/passing and reluctance to push forward a bit concerning from these scouting reports:


http://www.footballfancast.com/prem...left-back-problems/attachment/samuel-umtiti-4

Samuel Umtiti

Tottenham fans will already be familiar with Lyon defender Samuel Umtiti, who scored an absolute belter against the Lilywhites at White Hart Lane in the Europa League last season.

Finding the net in such style is a rarity for the 19 year-old, but his performances at the back have attracted the interests of several European clubs keen to take advantage of Lyon’s recent demise.

The 5 foot 11 defender can operate as a full-back or centre-back, with an abundance of power and pace in his locker, and over the last few years he’s muscled his way into the Ligue 1 outfit’s first team, racking up 49 career appearances to date.

Umtiti has continued to impress this season, and the youngster could be lured away in January if the right offer comes in.

Spurs have been linked with the France U21 ever since his captivating goal last year, but Manchester United and AC Milan also hold a vested interest in the defender, who the Metro believe could leave Lyon for as little as £5million.


http://youngstarlets.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/samuel-umtiti.html

Samuel Umtiti

Samuel Umtiti is a Cameroonian born French player who currently plays for Lyon. He is 19-years-old and plays either Centre Back or Left Back. Umtiti is not a typical modern left back as he leans more towards the defensive side, however, he is a player who does not take risks. This is important to have, as he is more cautious about what he does. This is also where his weakness lies. He doesn’t tend to make darting runs up field due to the limit of his technical abilities, namely passing. He will rarely be found on the ball and most of the passes he makes would be long balls.

Defensively however Umtiti shows his class. A great reader of the game, Umtiti is able to stay in the defensive line unless he spots an opportunity to gain possession. In this situation he is able to regain possession most of the time. His tendency to stay in the defensive line, however, leaves him acting as the last man in a lot of situations which pushes the defensive line further back creating spaces for the attackers. His marking of attackers comes with his positioning and how he reads the game. More often than not you will find him glued to his man without giving him any space to roam. This is especially useful during set pieces as he is able to thwart the attacker from getting a chance on goal. Umtiti is a great tackler of the ball. Although he is not the tallest player, it is not easy to overcome him in a physical battle. He plays this to his advantage while making well-timed and precise tackles. He is also a very good header of the ball, coupled with his great positioning and jumping, Umtiti is a very good threat in the box during Attacking plays and a great asset to have in defence while defending aerial threats.

He has recently been linked with Tottenham, Newcastle and AC Milan. Tottenham, who are on the lookout for a new left back, saw first hand the capabilities of Umtiti when they played Lyon in the Europa League. He scored a blinder of a goal. Umtiti is still only 19 and has many years ahead of him. He plays for a big club and has begun to gain more first team experience with 23 starts for Lyon this season. A few more years at Lyon may help him gain experience and confidence, which can then improve his game and maturity and see him play champions league football and even International Football for France.
 

Snarfalicious

Well-Known Member
Jul 15, 2012
15,709
71,935
I've watched him quite a bit and i feel like he is always caught in between how to play like a LB and how to play like a CB (If that makes sense). What I mean by that is that he looks to have issues with understanding the differing roles and how to play each effectively. For instance, his tentativeness to get forward at LB and at CB he picks the wrong times to go forward.

He's been playing CB more for Lyon this year, most likely due to the departure of Lovren and his overall development. I've watched him probably 4 or 5 times and he's been solid. Pretty average really. I think he's better off as a LB. Unfortunately, Bedimo is the first choice LB for Lyon and Umtiti has often slotted in at the LCB position.

I think we all got a pretty good idea of his ability against us last season: He is quick/strong and can be decent against pacy wingers. His positioning still can be off and like I said earlier, he's not quick enough to overlap when playing on the left.

I think the problems he has can be coached out of him and a lot of his issues can be the fluctuation of positions he plays. I look at a guy like Bruno Martins Indi and see how well he does transitioning from CB to LB to CB and I think Umtiti could eventually make that part of his game. But he needs coaching up and I think he needs continuity in a position before you can start switching him back and forth.

I think he'd be a solid option for us as we do need a LB to cover Rose and with our injury issues at CB, having that versatility only helps. So, while he has things to work on, I think he's definitely worth a shot and hopefully we can get him an extended look at LB and really get the most from him.
 

Syn_13

Fly On, Little Wing
Jul 17, 2008
14,851
20,659
If the whole "not liking to push forward" thing is true then I can't see AVB being keen. He likes his full backs playing more like wing backs.
 

TEESSIDE1

Married, new job and Spurs on the up!
Jul 3, 2006
15,089
18,780
Plus he's only 20 and with decent coaching he should improve his positional and attacking play.
 

SpursSvedala

Active Member
Jan 27, 2011
118
95
Dear fellow SC members. Don´t you even play FM ;)
He´s clearly the dogs bollox according to that game. One of the more expensive ones in 2016 together with Alvarez Balanta and that other dude, Doria from Botafogo and of course Marquinhos in PSG...
 

Spursking

Well-Known Member
May 16, 2004
5,431
2,457
To put it like this. I would much rather have Umtiti on the left back than for example multimillon purchase Luke Shaw.
 
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Larryjanta

Well-Known Member
Apr 22, 2014
1,953
5,040
Dear fellow SC members. Don´t you even play FM ;)
He´s clearly the dogs bollox according to that game. One of the more expensive ones in 2016 together with Alvarez Balanta and that other dude, Doria from Botafogo and of course Marquinhos in PSG...

That was my 4 CBs for a long time in the game - sensational players.

Know nothing other than FM and, it's true, Umiti is an absolute monster
 

Strikeb4ck

Well-Known Member
Aug 8, 2010
4,483
9,409
We want him as a ball playing CB? 5'11" seems quite short, especially with Verts not exactly being a beanpole.
 

DaSpurs

Well-Known Member
Jan 20, 2013
11,816
13,655
I thought he was a left back by trade. To be fair, I've only seen him play a couple of times and it was at left back.

My impression he grew up playing CB, but with Lovren there Lyon played him more at LB. Saints bought Lovren, Umtiti moved back to his favored position.

This move to me would make sense if Chiriches does go, as we'd then have two left-footers. Also would imply we have a loan liked up for Fryers, as it would push him way back in the order beyond a point of decent development opportunity.

For those concerned with his height, there's a couple things I would counter with. 1) When Poch's system gets fully rolling and everyone understands their roles, the CB's are placed in far less situations consisting of aerial duels, because the battles are much higher up the pitch and it's more about eliminating counters rather than letting them come at your box. 2) Dude's an absolute freak of an athlete. He may not always beat a 6'4" CB in the box on a corner, but he wouldn't do it any less than our current CB (he won just under 70% of his aerial duels last season, of our current CB's only Vertonghen beat this with 73% - Vlad's was 46%).
 
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