Tottenham Hotspur are making positive steps towards a permanent deal to bring Barcelona defender Clement Lenglet back to the Premier League, according to reports.
Is Clement Lenglet leaving Barcelona?
The French centre-back still has another three years to run on his contract at Camp Nou, but having been sent out on a season-long loan to N17 during the previous campaign, that would suggest he’s not in Xavi’s long-term plans moving forward and could therefore be on the move this window, potentially going back to Spurs.
Speaking during a recent public interview, Ange Postecoglou was asked whether the club would be looking to sign a new central defender before September 1, to which he replied:
"That's definitely our intention, absolutely. We've been working on it for a while and we'll definitely try to get it done as quickly as possible. I don't think it's any secret about some of the areas we needed to strengthen.”
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The Lilywhites could well be aiming to secure the 28-year-old’s services for good after it was reported that he’s already agreed personal terms and a three-year contract to stage his comeback, and the following update would suggest that a deal is moving in the right direction.
Are Tottenham signing Clement Lenglet?
According to Spanish outlet Sport (via Sport Witness), Spurs are taking "decisive steps" with Barcelona to reach a full agreement for the permanent sale of Lenglet. The Blaugrana want to finalise the defender's future "next week" and are getting "closer" to sanctioning his move to the top flight, though it's worth noting that a loan with a buy option has "not been ruled out".
The two clubs have "good relations" and the positive relationship is helping during negotiations, but the only "stumbling block" so far is the player's €15m (£12m) price tag.
During his 35 appearances at Tottenham, Lenglet was praised for his “strong” performances by Hugo Lloris and he was certainly a rock at the heart of the backline having averaged 2.6 clearances, 1.7 aerial wins and 1.5 tackles per top-flight game, via WhoScored, so it would be a huge boost should chiefs be able to secure his services once again.
The 6 foot 1 titan, who’s naturally left-footed, also ranked in the 94th percentile for progressive carries so loved to come out from the defence and push the team as high up the pitch as possible which resulted in him providing two assists and even netting a goal himself.
Furthermore, the Beauvais native has the ability to operate out at left-back alongside his usual role at centre-back so he would provide some welcome versatility should any unexpected injuries occur, making him a great option for the manager to have available.
Postecoglou hasn’t yet had the chance to personally work with Lenglet himself, but there’s no doubt that he would have taken a close look at his displays from last season and he must have been impressed to be pursuing a deal which sounds like it could be coming to fruition very soon, so this is definitely one to watch in the weeks ahead.