Spurs: Tottenham in pole position for Lenglet

The Frenchman could make a return to London.

Tottenham Hotspur are “standing as the favourites” to sign Barcelona defender Clement Lenglet, and he’s already reached an agreement with them.

Who will Spurs sign?

Ange Postecoglou’s side, having sealed deals for goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, playmaker James Maddison and winger Manor Solomon, are entering the final stretch of this transfer window.

The last month of the summer market is upon Spurs chairman Daniel Levy and there is still plenty to do, as reports have widely suggested Tottenham want to make two senior centre-back signings.

Postecoglou, speaking to the press on Spurs’ recent pre-season tour of Asia, confirmed that the north Londoners are seeking to strengthen in that area of the squad.

“That’s definitely our intention, absolutely,” said Postecoglou when asked about signing new defenders.

“We’ve been working on it for a while and we’ll definitely try to get it done as quickly as possible.

“I don’t think it’s any secret about some of the areas we needed to strengthen. Some of it I identified early on. The goalkeeper was one and central defence is another.

“In terms of the other boys, we’ve got a big squad but my view is I wanted to bring them along and just work with them, get some clarity in my head and give clarity to them.”

Many targets have been mentioned by sections of the press in this last month, namely Wolfsburg’s Micky van de Ven, Edmond Tapsoba of Bayer Leverkusen, Fulham’s Tosin Adarabioyo, Galatasary’s Victor Nelsson, Juventus defender Gleison Bremer and, of course, Lenglet.

The Frenchman, who has caps for Les Bleus at international level, has struggled to make his mark at Barcelona since he joined them from Sevilla in 2019.

Lenglet spent the 2022/2023 on loan at Tottenham, where he featured semi-regularly under Antonio Conte, Cristian Stellini and Ryan Mason.

Spurs have apparently been attempting to re-sign the 28-year-old permanently, with a report by Spanish newspaper Sport (via Sport Witness) sharing the latest.

It is believed Tottenham are “standing as the favourites” to seal a deal for Lenglet, who has already reached an agreement with Spurs to re-join them ahead of next season.

Xavi’s side want him gone by the end of this week, and if they can’t agree a permanent departure, Barca will apparently green-light a loan with an obligatory buying option.

The report adds his exit could be just days away and Spurs’ patience in talks appears to be slowly paying off, with it remaining to be seen what kind of deal will be eventually struck here.

What’s been said about Clement Lenglet?

The defender has been seriously endorsed by long-serving Spurs keeper Hugo Lloris, who called him both a “very strong” and a “high level” player just last summer.

“He’s a modern defender,” said Lloris.

“Comfortable to be able to play from the back. He has a great left foot and can be very strong in one v one and he’s strong in the air.

“Even if it’s never easy when you arrive in the Premier League and he will have to adapt to the intensity of the games but he is a high level player, with experience.”