breaking news: Tottenham has made a smart move to sign a defender who was once good enough for them

Tottenham is looking to complete a low-cost deal for Barcelona defender Clement Lenglet after spending the 2022-23 season on loan in North London.

The French defender has had his ups and downs in a Tottenham shirt so far and played in 26 league matches this season.

He was deemed surplus to requirements by Barcelona, but Spurs managed to find a use for him as part of a back three.

Along with Lenglet, Tottenham are also said to be weighing up a move for Man United defender Harry Maguire this summer. Witness, Spurs are now working on a ‘low-cost deal’ for the French defender.

The report claims that Barcelona had initially aAs reported by Sport asked for €12m but a deal could be done for half of that amount.

Spurs deem this as decent value for money and could look to finalize a deal over the next couple of weeks.

Due to Barcelona’s financial situation, they are keen to shift as many players off the wage bill as possible.

Lenglet has made a total of 160 appearances for Barcelona and could be a decent rotation option for the Spurs going forward.

While Tottenham thinks Lenglet could be decent value for money, not everyone shares the same opinion of the Frenchman.

Tony Cascarino was particularly harsh on the Barcelona loanee after a poor performance against Aston Villa in January.

“Spurs out of all the top six [clubs] have got the worst back four, but it can be a back five very often,” Cascarino told talkSPORT.

“Lenglet, I’ve seen a lot of him at Barcelona, I don’t think he’s good enough for Spurs.”

While Lenglet struggled to win everyone over, he does bring a wealth of experience to the Spurs back line.

Provided that Tottenham signs more players this summer, he could prove to be a decent option at a reduced price.

Antonio Conte, who brought Lenglet to the club, was always very complimentary of the 27-year-old while in charge.

“Clement is a really good player, don’t forget that we are talking about someone who played five years in Barcelona,” Conte explained. “When you play for many years in this type of club, with great history, great importance, it means that you are a good player.

“When I spoke with him in the summer I was very clear with him, if you decide to play you have to come with us, you will play, a really good player good personality, technically, and good choices in the game.”