Tottenham Hotspur continue to be linked with one defensive reinforcement in particular, who would likely hinder rather than help in bolstering Ange Postecoglou's squad for the coming campaign…
Has Clement Lenglet gone to Tottenham Hotspur?
That's according to the Spanish publication Sport, who suggest that the Lilywhites have made decisive steps towards signing Barcelona centre-back and former loanee Clement Lenglet permanently.
It is said that they continue to work on a deal for the Frenchman, despite his questionable displays last term that led to such a woeful year for the club.
The Catalonian giants seem keen to offload their expensive flop, but their €15m (£13m) valuation represents a disparity between the two sides.
However, they are coming closer to an agreement, with his departure expected in just over a week.
How good is Clement Lenglet?
Considering how proactive their new manager has been this window in reshaping the club, it would be a surprise to see him return to Lenglet in particular, given his short but tumultuous history in north London.
Having been brought in on a one-year loan by Antonio Conte, the 28-year-old played under three different managers across that one season, and admittedly disappointed throughout.
His 6.65 average rating in the Premier League emphasises this, as he failed to live up to the classy ball-playing billing that likely spurred Barcelona to spend £31.7m to tempt him from Sevilla.
This rating was exacerbated through several facets, but mainly just an inability to compete with the physicality of English football. Journalist Jack Pitt-Brooke had predicted such an eventuality, as he wrote in June 2022:
"The criticism is made of Lenglet that he lacks the speed and agility of a modern centre-back and that he may struggle with the physicality of the Premier League."
With just one clean sheet to his name across his 24 league appearances, even though he posted somewhat admirable figures for clearances per game (2.6) and pass accuracy (87%), it is clear that his involvement came at the detriment of the solidity of the team, via Sofascore.
It should have come as no surprise though, as the season prior in LaLiga he posted an equally-disappointing 6.67 average rating, this time seeing his interceptions per game drop to 0.6, and his clearances per game to 0.9, also per Sofascore.
The very start of that campaign had seen him lambasted too, with CBS Sports journalist Jonathan Johnson noting:
"Lenglet. A complete & utter liability of a defender."
Should Spurs once again seek to purchase outcasts from the Nou Camp, they could risk repeating their failed 2021 move when they brought in Emerson Royal.
The stature of a club of their size often lends to the over-inflated prices that their sales can bring, and that was certainly the case with the Brazilian full-back, who moved for an initial £25.8m fee.
He has since gone on to play 77 times for the north London outfit, hardly setting the world alight.
Billed as an all-action wing-back capable of spearheading a system reliant on this role, his first league campaign saw the 24-year-old maintain a 6.88 average rating, scoring just once and assisting another one.
He would fare a little better the year following, increasing his goal contributions to three in the most recent term, via Sofascore.
Such underperformance has rightly led to criticism, with journalist Josh Bunting pulling no punches in his scathing assessment of the move that went beyond just his offensive deficiencies:
"Emerson Royal just isn’t good enough at all, he’s not Premier League quality whatsoever. Dreadful performance again today, decision making and just general football intelligence is simply dreadful. Maybe the worst player to play for Tottenham in my lifetime and I mean that".
Such abject failure should worry Postecoglou, and perhaps warn him that although Lenglet might appear to be a fine cut-price option to bolster his backline, he could instead end up repeating old mistakes and tying down another dud on a lucrative long-term deal.
