In their quest to find substantial funds through whatever means necessary, Barcelona have approached a bit of a dead end in the case of certain operations that could turn out to be problematic in the long run.
Following the news that French defender Samuel Umtiti and FC Barcelona have come to find contentions between the two associated entities regarding the player’s potential contract termination, it is now being reported that another French defender’s exit may be under jeopardy as well.
As per the ever-reliable Italian journalist and transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, 28-year-old French central defender Clement Lenglet is currently not a priority for English Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur following an abundance of reports suggesting the club was advancing in talks with Barcelona over the transfer of the defender.
The journalist went on to elaborate that the current priority for Spurs remains the signing of Leicester City midfielder James Maddison, who Romano reports Spurs have an agreement in place for around €40 million, with only his documentation and medicals yet to be sorted and finalized.
The London-based club is also keeping tabs on other defensive targets such as Edmond Tapsoba of Bayer Leverkusen and Micky van de Ven of Wolfsburg as per a report from Mundo Deportivo.
This news comes as an understandable letdown for Barcelona, who are still insisting on the sale of several players, including Lenglet, who is no longer in the plans of Xavi Hernandez heading into the future of the club.
Previous speculations were suggesting that Barcelona and Spurs were negotiating a transfer fee for the French central defender between the regions of €5-15 million depending on the various intricacies of the player’s contract that would include having to pay deferred and outstanding wages. It now seems that a longer wait is due if Barcelona truly insist on the sale of the French player.
