Tottenham Hotspur have made progress in their move to sign Barcelona defender Clement Lenglet but it won’t be a swap deal.
Clement Lenglet won’t be swapped for Giovani Lo Celso but the defender could still join Tottenham Hotspur this summe
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Newspaper Mundo Deportivo report that Barcelona would like to sign Spurs misfit Lo Celso after impressing at Villarreal.
The idea was for Barcelona to engineer a swap involving defender Lenglet, who spent this past season on loan at Tottenham.
However, Tottenham weren’t keen on that idea, meaning Barcelona will have to negotiate for Lo Celso separately if they want him.
Lenglet could still make his move though as SPORT claim that talks were held between Barcelona and Tottenham on Wednesday.
Progress was allegedly made but Tottenham aren’t rushing into a deal due to Lenglet’s enormous wages at the Camp Nou.
Spurs would be willing to give Lenglet a five-year deal and bring his wages down, but that may still not be enough to get the deal done.
Barcelona are happy to sell on the cheap just to get rid of Lenglet, with Tottenham potentially paying just €5million (£4.3million)
Tottenham can do better than Clement Lenglet
Lenglet started 24 Premier League games last season and was largely forgettable in a dismal Tottenham season.
The Frenchman did a job on the left side of Tottenham’s back three but he had the feeling of a stop-gap from the moment he signed.
Left-footed centre backs are becoming more and more expensive, so taking Lenglet on loan for a year gave Spurs more time to go and find one for the future.
Instead, Tottenham are now left to consider signing Lenglet permanently in a deal which wouldn’t be particularly inspiring.
Sure, the price is cheap and Lenglet may only be a backup as Ange Postecoglou likely moves to a 4-3-3 system, but a five-year deal would take him well into his 30’s.
Lenglet would be on considerable wages too, making this the exact kind of deal Tottenham should be avoiding.
Lenglet may also not be a great fit for Postecoglou’s high line, and we would implore Spurs to look elsewhere before pulling the trigger on a deal for Lenglet.
