Clement Lenglet is living on borrowed time in Barcelona. Signed from Sevilla back in 2018 for a fee of €35 million, the Frenchman quickly became a regular in the side, usurping his compatriot Samuel Umtiti as Gerard Pique’s defensive partner.
However, the center-half has endured a rapid fall from grace over the past couple of years, with erroneous and unconvincing displays seeing him drop down the pecking order of things at Camp Nou.
Lenglet finds himself Ronald Araujo, Pique, Eric Garcia in the order of preference under manager Xavi Hernandez currently. And with Barça set to add at least another center-back in the upcoming window, his prospects will dwindle further.
And SPORT is now reporting that Xavi has made a decision to offload Lenglet at the end of the season. The manager has hardly called upon the French international during his tenure as the head coach at the club and is ready to axe him in the upcoming window.
The report claims that Xavi’s selection on Thursday in the defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt was a strong indicator of his plans for Lenglet.
The 42-year-old opted to use Ronald Araujo and Eric Garcia as center-backs in the absence of Pique, even though he has been using the former at right-back in recent games when Sergio Dest and Dani Alves have been unavailable.
Instead, Oscar Mingueza, who has rarely played recently, got the nod at right-back, as Araujo started at the heart of the defense, with Lenglet staying put on the bench.
Furthermore, Barcelona is scouring the market for a left-footed centre-back, with Arsenal star Gabriel Magalhaes heavily linked of late. It spells trouble for Lenglet, as well as his compatriot Umtiti, who are the only left-sided central defenders at Camp Nou.
The report further adds that Lenglet has no shortage of admirers with Arsenal, Newcastle United and Inter Milan already making enquiries for the 26-year-old. So, an exit for the Frenchman looks inevitable.
