Barcelona loans France defender Umtiti to Serie A club Lecce

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — World Cup-winning France defender Samuel Umtiti will prepare for this year’s tournament in Italy instead of Barcelona after moving on loan to Lecce. Barcelona says the newly promoted Serie A club has taken Umtiti for one season with no option to buy. The loan deal is the latest move by Barcelona to try to comply with financial rules during its debt crisis. The Spanish side has been unable to register Umtiti’s France teammate Jules Koundé since signing the defender from Sevilla last month. Barcelona extended Umtiti’s contract in January which included taking a salary cut.