Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy has come under criticism once again for taking the ‘cheap option’ in signing Clement Lenglet this summer, rather than pursuing a much better £50 million alternative.
Spur were linked with a number of big-name centre-backs in the summer but none of the deals materialised and they ended up signing Clement Lenglet on loan from Barcelona as a stop-gap signing.
Lenglet made his debut for Spurs by coming off the bench for the final four minutes of their season-opening 4-1 Premier League victory over Southampton.
He has since made 16 appearances across all competitions, scoring one goal and assisting on two others. And the Frenchman played the entire 90-minute loss to Aston Villa on New Year’s Day.
Villa’s Emi Buendia and Douglas Luiz scored, handing Spurs another defeat. They have now only won one of their last four league games, conceding nine goals.
And Football Insider’s John Wenham has accused club chairman Daniel Levy of lacking ambition. He believes the club should have signed a top-class centre-back in the summer such as Alessandro Bastoni or Josko Gvardiol.
He told Football Insider:
“Again, I looked at Clement Lenglet yesterday over the course of 90 minutes and I will not be told he is better than Ben Davies.”
“He is exactly the same level and I have been saying this since we first got him. There is absolutely no difference in quality between the two of them.
“With one player on loan and one player not, with one player counting as homegrown and the other not, there is an easy decision to make at the end of the season and that is to get rid of Lenglet.
“It looks like we are paying the price for getting the cheap option and not pushing the boat out to sign a Bastoni or Gvardiol.
“Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool all would have done that if they were in our position. It is so frustrating.
“They would have made things happen. We again went for the cheap option and after a few injuries to the squad we now don’t have the required quality in the squad.”
Spurs have a chance to make things right with Bastoni still potentially available. Spurs are reportedly planning a double swoop for him as well as Atalanta teenager Giorgio Scalvini. Bastoni is said to cost around £50 million.
Gvardiol who had an unreal World Cup has also been recently linked with a move to Spurs. But they will face stiff competition for him with a lot of clubs interested in signing him including their London rivals Chelsea who are never afraid to splash the clash unlike Levy.
