FC Barcelona continue to work towards establishing a strong squad on the grounds of both sporting advancements as well as economic feasibility. As such, the Catalans continue to work towards ensuring arrivals and departures that are required are sorted before the deadline of the summer transfer window.
The arrival of Manchester City fullback Joao Cancelo also continues to hang in the balance due to problems ongoing at the moment with financial fair play, something Barcelona are hoping to resolve with certain departures.
One of those departures is that of French central defender Clement Lenglet, whose operation has gone on for much longer than Barcelona had earlier anticipated to conclude and had hoped to close down completely.
At the moment, according to Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona will be hoping to finalize an agreement with fellow Spanish side Sevilla soon to ensure the player’s loan move takes place and the Catalans are able to offload a significant portion of his salary from their salary record.
In this agreement, Barcelona are going to have to reportedly continue to pay a part of Lenglet’s salary, which includes deferred payments, as Sevilla are not in a position to take on the entirety of the responsibility. Despite this obvious inconvenience, Barcelona still believe this to be the best possible avenue to take at this moment.
The other options were that of English Premier League outfit Tottenham Hotspur, which was Lenglet’s ideal destination, as well as that of Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr, who provided the best economic package as they agreed to even pay €15 million to Barcelona for a permanent transfer of the 28-year-old, as well as offer to pay the player beyond his current salary.
However, it appears that Sevilla will end up being the most likely destination of the player as the club is looking for defensive reinforcements. It is interesting to note that Barcelona initially brought in the Frenchman from Sevilla in 2018 for a fee of around €35 million.
The 28-year-old remains under contract at FC Barcelona until 2026, so this hypothetical loan at Sevilla would only keep him away from the club until the summer of 2024, after which he will make his return to the Catalan club.
