Tottenham Hotspur could take defender Clement Lenglet on loan once again as Barcelona look to move him on.
Clement Lenglet is primed for the Barcelona chopping block and may yet rejoin Tottenham Hotspur on loan.
That is according to Catalan newspaper SPORT, who claim that Barcelona want to secure Lenglet’s departure this coming weeks.
It’s suggested that Barcelona and Tottenham have ‘good relations’ and there is hope that a deal for Lenglet can be sorted out.
The report claims that Lenglet could even go out on loan to Tottenham for another season.
The plan this time would be for a mandatory permanent clause to be inserted into a second loan move. Tottenham’s loan deal for Lenglet last summer did not have any permanent clause involved, hence difficult negotiations this summer.
Barca’s US tour is understood to have frozen talks but there are hopes of getting a deal done within days.
Clement Lenglet cannot be Tottenham’s top centre back addition
Tottenham clearly need a couple of centre backs this summer. Two Bundesliga stars – Bayer Leverkusen’s Edmond Tapsoba and Wolfsburg’s Micky van de Ven – have been key targets.
However, The Athletic suggest that deals for both players are in danger though with Spurs unable to agree fees with either club.
Then there is Tosin Adarabioyo, with the Fulham defender seen as a budget-friendly, homegrown option at the back. Tottenham have allegedly made an offer to Adarabioyo but he prefers to join Monaco this summer. That leaves Tottenham scrambling to sign even one centre back, never mind two.
This situation could bring Tottenham back to Lenglet, who was fairly unspectacular during his loan spell.
Yes, Lenglet offers a natural left-footed option at the back but the Frenchman didn’t show enough to elevate Tottenham’s back line last season. Signing Lenglet again would feel like an acceptance that Spurs just can’t attract any better right now and would hardly inspire fans of a better campaign.
The Catalan press have been wide of the mark on Lenglet to Spurs this summer and for Tottenham’s sake, we hope they’re wrong again.