Tottenham Hotspur are set to continue their push for defensive reinforcements, however seem intent on one target in particular despite his poor form…
How much will Clement Lenglet cost Tottenham Hotspur?
The latest on this pursuit of Clement Lenglet comes via Spanish outlet Sport, which details the continuing negotiations that the north London club is in with Barcelona.
With their interest firmly registered, it seems that the main stumbling block remains coming to an agreeable fee, with the Catalan giants seeking to offload him, but not below their valuation.
Whilst Spurs are only willing to offer €5m (£3m), the selling club remain firm in their belief that he is instead worth €15m (£13m). However, with their reluctance to continue fronting his £200k-per-week wages, they could well succumb to Ange Postecoglou's demands to just end this transfer nightmare.
Such a search for a bargain is likely in the hopes that a deal can be struck for both Lenglet and one of Micky van de Ven or Edmond Tapsoba, who both continue to be linked.
Is Clement Lenglet any good?
Despite the apparent low price they could well get, there still remains little upside to signing this struggling Frenchman.
Having moved to the Nou Camp for a £31.7m fee, it was expected that the 28-year-old would take his fine form from Sevilla and simply translate it into a bigger stage. However, that has been far from the case.
His most recent Sofascore rating in La Liga sits at an abysmal 6.62, with his recent stint on loan to Spurs speaking volumes about his standing within Xavi's squad. There was hope he might reignite his career under the tutelage of Antonio Conte but instead ended up contributing to one of their worst seasons in recent memory.
The left-footed titan could only muster a 6.65 average rating in the Premier League, as he truly lived up to the claims of journalist Roy Nemer, who had branded him a "defensive liability" back in 2020.
Despite being somewhat comfortable in possession, his lack of aerial prowess led to questions being asked about his ability to compete in England. A 61% win rate in the air during that campaign feeds into this suggestion, with even Eric Dier recording a higher figure (70%) despite his own struggles of late.
This weakness immediately draws comparisons with the Lilywhites' £8.5m signing of Vlad Chiriches in 2013, who too suffered to compete physically despite the expectation that came with acquiring a fearsome Romanian stopper.
Not only this, but he too became a similar liability, to which Mauricio Pochettino even had to rush to his defence back in 2014 before selling him in the following summer: "He made one mistake after another mistake, but we need to accept it because this is football. I am very disappointed, I am angry, I am frustrated and all that you want to say, but it is 1-1 in the end."
The 33-year-old would spend just two years in north London before being shipped off, deemed unfit for the level their Argentinian manager sought to take them to.
Postecoglou must now surely see the similarities with Lenglet, and avoid a similar blunder that could prove even worse should they be forced into paying his astronomical wages too, having already seen his shortcomings up close last season during that dismal loan stint.