Clement Lenglet puts Premier League clubs on alert
Clement Lenglet ‘puts Arsenal, Tottenham and Newcastle on alert with the defender open to leaving Barcelona on loan this summer’ after falling drastically down the pecking order at the Nou Camp under Xavi
- The French defender is thought to be one of a number of players Barca will let go
- He has dramatically fallen down the pecking order at the Catalan club under Xavi
- Barcelona need to get players off the wage bill to ensure arrivals can come in
Barcelona defender Clement Lenglet has put a host of Premier League clubs on alert as the centre-back is willing to leave the Catalan club this summer on loan, it has been reported.
The Spanish club desperately need to get players off their wage bill as they look to register new signings.
The imminent signing of Andreas Christensen, in addition to the contract renewal of Ronald Araujo, has pushed Lenglet further down the pecking order.
Clement Lenglet has grown to the idea of departing Barcelona this summer, it is claimed
Sport, a Spanish publication, report that the Frenchman forms no part of the plans going forward for the club under Xavi Hernandez and as such he can leave.
As with so many of the players Barcelona have signed in recent years, the player is said to be on wages that would prove a stumbling block for any permanent move away from the club.
The Spanish publication claimed that Lenglet had initially been reluctant to depart the club, for reasons not made entirely clear, but in recent days is said to have grown to the idea.
The Frenchman has fallen way down the pecking order under Xavi Hernandez’s current reign
The Premier League is likely to represent the most realistic market for a defender who will command significant wages. Sport say his yearly wages, gross, come to around £8.5m a year.
Arsenal, Spurs, Newcastle and Everton are said to consider this figure too high.
Barcelona’s financial state means players like Lenglet are very much surplus to requirements and getting them off the wage bill, if not even to receive a fee in return, will represent some sort of victory for the club.
The club is in dire financial straits and needs to get players off the wage bill to bring new ones in
Lenglet, who arrived from Sevilla in 2018 for £29m, saw his minutes dramatically decrease during Xavi’s first season in charge of the club.
Eric Garcia, who arrived for free from Manchester City last summer, Gerard Pique and the aforementioned Araujo are all ahead of the Frenchman in the pecking order.
With Christensen set to arrive, should Barcelona be able to register him, the club appear well-stocked at centre back. However, Sport go on to say that Lenglet’s departure could open the door for another central defender.
It is reported that Kalidou Koulibaly, the Napoli central defender and Senegal captain, is the priority for that area.
Barcelona are believed to be most interested in Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli
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