Villarreal “seriously interested” in Barcelona’s Clément Lenglet – report
Barcelona continue their effort to try and get rid of Clément Lenglet’s salary to complete their summer transfer business, and there might be a real chance they finally achieve their goal.
That’s according to a report from Relevo’s Matteo Moretto, who says Villarreal are “seriously interested” in signing the veteran center-back from Barça to replace Jorge Cuenca, who was recently sold to Fulham in the Premier League — a deal that incidently earned Barça a report €1.4 million due to a sell-on clause in the former La Masia defender’s contract.
Villarreal manager Marcelino is a fan of Lenglet since the player’s days at Sevilla and thinks the Frenchman is a perfect fit for his system, and wants the Yellow Submarine to approach Barça to try and agree a deal in the next few days.
The Blaugrana’s dream scenario is a permanent transfer, but Lenglet’s high salary makes that a very difficult proposition. That’s why the Catalans have agreed to pay half of the player’s wages during his last two years on loan at Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa, and they would be open to a similar structure to get at least some of Lenglet’s salary off the books.
Lenglet recently rejected a move to Besiktas and Atlético Madrid’s rumored interest didn’t turn into real negotiations, so Barça hope that the third time’s the charm when it comes to getting rid of one of their biggest financial headaches.
