Tottenham and Barcelona ‘continue to negotiate’ regarding defender Clement Lenglet but are locked in something of a ‘Cold War’ thanks to their different valuations of him.
That’s according to Sport, who say Tottenham want to pay a ‘minimum amount’ for the player and Barcelona continue to demand €15m.
The newspaper insists that negotiations between the two clubs are not broken at this moment in time, despite either side remaining firm on their demands.
The belief is that the Catalans will have to ‘give in’ at some point if they are to finalise the operation and open up the space in the wage bill that they need to make more signings.
Tottenham’s argument is that they are going to take on his high wages themselves, and for three years to boot, and so shouldn’t pay a fee they consider high. Barcelona naturally disagree.
Spurs and Daniel Levy are always a tough negotiator, though, and would not want to spend more than €5m for the Frenchman despite wanting him after his loan spell last season.
The defender currently earns around €9m per season and while Tottenham are unlikely to match that, they will make a ‘significant effort’ to ensure the player is satisfied and because of that don’t want to pay anything above a ‘testimonial’ fee.
Barcelona believe Lenglet is worth €15m though and are refusing to move, despite the player’s departure being necessary to help their finances.
They’ve set a deadline for the middle of next week ahead of the squad travelling to the United States, with the hope the Frenchman won’t be on the plane with them.
Whether that impending deadline ends up working in Tottenham’s favour remains to be seen but at the moment they’re not moving and neither are Barcelona.
