Barcelona want defender Clement Lenglet off their wage bill as soon as today, according to reports in Spain. The Frenchman spent last season on loan at Tottenham Hotspur and could yet make a permanent move to the Premier League side.
What's the latest on Clement Lenglet to Tottenham Hotspur?
Last season's loan spell didn't go entirely to plan for Lenglet, as the central defender made 26 Premier League appearances in a campaign that saw Spurs finish outside the top six.
Nonetheless, Barclelona's Joan Laporta still believes that a permanent deal for the defender could be on the cards this summer, saying, via Football London: "I think that with Tottenham we will reach an agreement for Lenglet. This almost never goes fast. It depends on the other party."
According to Marca however, via Sport Witness, the move could now go a lot faster than anticipated. That's because the defender has been given time off to speed up a move back to North London, with Barcelona keen to get him off their wage bill as soon as possible – the defender currently earns a reported £97k per week.
The La Liga giants reportedly want the Frenchman's future wrapped up quite literally today – before the squad travel to a pre-season tour. It remains to be seen whether the transfer will reach that stage so quickly, but it certainly looks like this will be one to keep an eye on in the next 24 hours.
As things stand then, it looks as though Lenglet will make the move to Spurs this summer, and it's a matter of when, and not if. He would become the fourth signing of the Ange Postecoglou era, following in the footsteps of Guglielmo Vicario, Manor Solomon, and most-notably James Maddison.
Should Spurs sign Clement Lenglet?
Under new boss Postecoglou, the slate is wiped clean once more at N17, and that's the same for Lenglet, if he completes a move.
Whilst his loan move wasn't an incredible success, we're still talking about a defender with Champions League quality, who once attracted the interest of Barcelona and had some decent performances both in Catalonia and in north London.
Still only 28 on top of that, Lenglet presents Spurs with a solid and dependable option in their backline, as last season's loanee did manage to impress at times. He attracted praise from pundit and Spurs fan John Wenham, who told Football Insider following the defender's north London Derby performance:
"I have been really thinking about this, I want to give credit to Clement Lenglet. It was his first North London derby. I don’t watch every weekend but when I do, or I see the highlights, Bukayo Saka is always their most influential attacking player.
"He certainly was last season and I thought Clement Lenglet, on the whole, kept him fairly quiet, especially in the first half. I just wanted to give credit because I think his performance went a little bit under the radar. I have been impressed with him so far.
“The fact he has instantly come in for Ben Davies and we don’t look any weaker, that is a huge credit to him really."
As the summer goes on, Lenglet's official move to Spurs on a permanent basis could get closer and closer, but these next 24 hours certainly looks crucial as Barca hurry to sort out their own squad.
