For the last two years, finding a suitable destination for their unwanted defender Clement Lenglet has taken a significant toll on FC Barcelona. The French defender spent the last two seasons on loans to Tottenham Hotspurs and Aston Villa.
However, he has once again returned to the Blaugrana club this summer, and the Catalans are once again looking for potential suitors for the French center-back. For this purpose, Barcelona have already tried to send him to Saudi Arabia, France, or some other Spanish team in La Liga.
But in a surprising turn of events, Mundo Deportivo claims that Lenglet can remain a part of the Barcelona team for the 2024-25 season, especially as the new coach, Hansi Flick, values the player for his playing style and experience.
The defender played in Barcelona’s first pre-season game against Manchester City in the USA, as other starting defenders were unavailable. Lenglet captained the team in this match and had a good outing overall.
Following that game, he was linked with Atletico Madrid, as the Mattress Makers are looking for a replacement for Mario Hermoso. Barcelona are aware of the capital club’s interest, but an agreement for Lenglet’s loan is still quite far from arriving.
Meanwhile, Real Sociedad are also keeping an eye on the French defender, as they also have to replace Robin Le Normand in their backline.
Hansi Flick is reported to be a keen advocate of retaining Lenglet, especially following the injury to Ronald Araujo. Furthermore, Andreas Christensen might again have to play in the midfield if another pivot does not arrive this summer, leaving the backline further depleted.
Furthermore, if Hansi Flick decides to use Jules Kounde as a right-back, Barcelona will have only three first-team center-backs available for the two center-back positions: Pau Cubarsi, Inigo Martinez, and Eric Garcia. In this scenario, Lenglet would only need to compete with them for a place in the team.
For now, Barcelona are not ruling out anything, and are insisting that the head coach will make the final decision in this regard. The player himself also likes Flick’s coaching style, but Barcelona might not want to have a substitute defender with such high wages.