Tottenham will not sign Clement Lenglet ‘on a permanent basis’ when his loan deal expires, according to a club insider, and will instead focus on a major upgrade of the centre-back.
Clement Lenglet joined Tottenham on loan from Barcelona in the summer after the club failed to sign any of their main targets. He has now started five of his last six games and has been very impressive.
But despite his great form, Spurs insider John Wenham told Football Insider the club are not looking for a permanent deal for the defender and he will be sent back “hard” to the Spanish club. He said:
“I have said that I am a fan of Lenglet. In the summer, it became very clear – Tottenham leaked it to selected journalists – that we were looking to improve the team.
“We were looking for a top defender, Bastoni, Gvardiol. Davies is a little bit below that level and I think Lenglet is at the same level as Davies.”
Wenham further argued that Lenglet is not an upgrade on the quality they already have and compared it to being as good as Davies. That is why he believes the club will not be convinced to keep him and would instead opt for a bigger upgrade.
He continued:
“I feel a bit bad saying this, but Lenglet is not an improvement on what we have. He is as good as Davies and that is fine for a team that is finishing in the top four.”
“It’s a compliment to him because Davies has been playing in the Premier League for 10 years. But he’s not pushing us like Dier or Romero.
“It’s a bit tough for him, but I think he will play this season and he will do well, but now that Davies counts as a youth player in the Champions League teams and Lenglet is only on loan, he could see us going for another top centre-back.
“Lenglet will be thanked for everything and will continue on his way. That’s tough because it’s good and I like it, but it’s not better than what we have.”
Come the summer, Spurs will once again be linked with a plethora of central defense options, one of them being Josko Gvardiol, who has already been said to be Conte’s main target. According to Football Insider, Conte has set his sights on the Croatian international who has a ‘£44m’ release clause. The report also mentions Chelsea and Leeds United as the other two Premier League clubs interested in him.
