As the Barcelona pre-season tour to the United States of America inches closer and closer by the day, the Catalan club has to make the decision as to who travels with the club to North America and who stays put in Spain while their future is sorted out by the club.
There are several players who are considered to be in a vulnerable moment in terms of their Barcelona career, with some even thought to be traveling with the team to the United States of America primarily just to prove their usefulness to Xavi in order to retain themselves within the Blaugrana team.
One player who is not going to be included in the pre-season despite being completely fit as well as available, is Frenchman Clement Lenglet, who just recently returned from a season-long loan at English side Tottenham Hotspur.
As per Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo, the central defender is one who is completely out of Xavi’s plans and is considered surplus to requirements, given that the Spanish coach believes he is already well-rounded with the central defenders he currently possesses in the team.
While his teammates prepare and train at the Ciutat Esportiva, the 28-year-old continues to stay in shape and train on his own at his residence in Barcelona. Simultaneously, negotiations continue between Spurs and Barca for his permanent transfer, although sources claim the agreement is far from over.
There are other clubs that are now interested in Lenglet as well, but an agreement is a far way off. For now, the plan is that the player will return to the club grounds to train alongside the return of the other international players around Monday.
However, if an agreement for his sale is not reached by the 19th of this month, the player will not be traveling with the Barcelona squad for the pre-season and instead will stay at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper to train with a physical trainer to keep him in shape while his future is formalized with an interested party.
