Barcelona have ‘practically thrown in the towel’ in negotiations with Tottenham over defender Clement Lenglet, believing a permanent sale is unlikely to happen this summer.
That’s according to Sport, who say Barcelona are now increasingly likely to push for a loan deal for the defender in an effort to get him off of the books.
Lenglet spent last season on loan at Tottenham and returned to Barcelona this summer, with Spurs deciding against taking up an option in the deal to sign him permanently.
They’ve remained keen on getting him back for a while but negotiations between the two sides have not progressed as Tottenham don’t want to pay what Barcelona are asking for.
Sport explains that revolves around €16m that the Catalans still owe the player after he signed a new deal in October 2020 that reduced his wages but ensured he would recover the fee at a later date.
Their hope was that Tottenham or other suitors would pay this fee but that’s not happened, particularly as the defender enjoys a big wage packet that most clubs, including Spurs, simply cannot afford.
Those two factors make a permanent exit unlikely, and Barcelona have now ‘practically thrown in the towel’ in that regard.
They don’t want the defender and have told him as much, despite recently registering him with La Liga, but the club’s sporting management are now working to get him out on loan instead. They consider that more viable than a permanent exit and are ‘optimistic’ they can find a deal.
Barcelona are trying to ensure that any club which does take Lenglet on loan either cover the entirety of Lenglet’s wages or a ‘very important percentage’ of it at least because they need to free up space in their salary budget so they can finish registering new signings.
Lenglet is key to that but whether Tottenham are open to another loan and covering those wages remain to be seen but it appears any more negotiations will be focused on that rather than a permanent sale from now on.
