Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly in advanced talks with Barcelona to sign Clement Lenglet on a permanent deal, making him the club’s first transfer of the summer transfer window.
The Frenchman joined Spurs last summer on a loan deal and has made 27 appearances for the North London club this season.
The 26-year-old defender was initially signed as a stop-gap solution when Antonio Conte took over as the club’s manager.
Conte reportedly wanted to sign Alessandro Bastoni, but the club had to make do with Lenglet.
However, the Frenchman has proved to be a decent signing, and his performances have left a mark on the club.
As per a report from Sport, Tottenham are working on finalising a £12m deal for Lenglet, and the move is expected to be completed if the player gives the green light.
It could be considered a smart addition to the squad given Lenglet’s experience, but fans will not be content if the club does not sign another top-tier centre-back.
Lenglet has been at Barcelona since 2018, making over 100 appearances for the Catalan giants but he is not in their plans anymore.
Barcelona are looking to offload him to reduce their wage bill which they have to do so drastically before June 30 in order to comply with the Financial fairplay rules.
The reports about Spurs being in advanced talks with the player comes as a surprise given that Spurs are tied up with problems of their own. At the moment, they are without a manager and their director’s position is under question as well.
But the fact that the club are in talks to sign a player while they don’t have a manager is itself an indication of Daniel Levy’s control at the club and everything wrong with it.
