Clement Lenglet, who was able to secure a loan transfer from Barcelona to Atletico Madrid last summer, has been flourishing under Diego Simeone. The French defender has established himself as a mainstay in Los Rojiblancos’ starting lineup and has been a generally dependable presence in the backline, despite his rather slow start.
In his 29 games this season, Lenglet has even contributed two goals and two assists. In light of his increasing significance and consistent performances, Atletico Madrid is considering permanently acquiring the defender from Barcelona in the summer.
SPORT claims that despite having multiple chances to speak with Barcelona directly to discuss Lenglet’s future, Atletico Madrid has so far refrained from doing so. In order to prolong the stalling of negotiations, Atletico has been completely silent despite recent encounters between the two teams during league and cup matches.
Barca will part ways with Lenglet this summer
Given the total cost of his signing, which included both the transfer fee (35.9 million euros in 2018) and his salary, Barça would have preferred to receive about 10 million euros net for his transfer. The club must, however, cut wages due to its financial “Fair Play” issues, and Lenglet, like Ansu Fati, is a permanent benchwarmer for the team that causes the most issues.
In light of this, Atlético has a leg up in negotiating a reduced transfer cost for Clément Lenglet, provided Simeone approves the deal and the “rojiblanca” board persuades the center-back to agree to a reasonable salary. The Arab League has also made some extremely intriguing offers to the Frenchman, but he currently has no plans to leave the European elite.
Given that Hansi Flick has enough center-backs, the defender, who has a contract with Barcelona through 2026, appears to have no future in Catalunya. Lenglet has played for Atletico in 13 games in all competitions this season, and the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium may be his future home.
