Clement Lenglet has spent the past two seasons on loan at Tottenham Hotspur and then Aston Villa.
Neither of the spells were poor but it wasn’t a runaway success either. Despite that, Lenglet remains a reliable option and it’s now claimed West Ham are interested in the Frenchman.
Barcelona signed the defender in 2018 from Sevilla, and just like multiple teammates he agreed to defer a chunk of his wages during the peak of the Covid pandemic.
The Catalan press reframe this as him now having a ridiculous contract, but it’s just a case of him being owed what he agreed to forgo at the time.
Sport now report that Lenglet has rejected a move to Saudi Arabia, and rejected the offer to rescind his contract. Tearing up his deal would mean he wouldn’t get those deferred wages he’s owed, and he’s not having any of that.
When he was on loan at Tottenham and Aston Villa, Barcelona continued to pay a percentage of his salary, likely the bit they owed him from previous years, and he’d accept a similar move again.
According to Sport, West Ham and Borussia Dortmund are interested, but neither would be willing to cover his full wages… something which is entirely understandable.
Barcelona’s behaviour over Lenglet’s deferred wages has been rather odd, and the same goes for the Catalan media.
