10 Toughest Centre Backs At World Cup 2018

A few eyebrows were raised when Barcelona splashed the cash on Lyon's Samuel Umtiti a couple of years ago, but the €25 million price tag the Spanish giants laid out for the young Frenchman looks like a bargain right now.

Cameroon-born Umtiti is, quite simply, an exceptional, modern central defender. With shrewd passing abilities, perfectly-timed challenges, intelligent game-reading skills and a fearless attitude, the 24-year-old has been one of the best signings made by Barcelona in recent years and fits very nicely into an extremely-talented French squad too.

Umtiti is the sort of defender who can pick out an astonishingly precise pass one second and then throw himself in front of a challenge the next. He brings a lot to any team and his contributions could be very important if France want to make it all the way to the final. Alongside Real Madrid's Raphael Varane, Umtiti is expected to form one of the most solid defensive partnerships at the World Cup.