Barca reach agreement with Villa for Lenglet loan

Clement Lenglet will play this season on loan at Aston Villa. The Barcelona defender, who finds himself without a place in Xavi Hernandez's plans, met this morning with the Barca sporting director, Deco, to finalise the details of his return to the Premier League.

Remaining benched in the summer friendlies against Arsenal, Real Madrid and Milan, as well as in the Joan Gamper match against Tottenham, the defender has yet to even be included in a matchday squad this season. 

Fabrizio Romano, 'AS', 'Sport' and 'Mundo Deportivo' all consider the move to be a done deal, so it's difficult to believe it wouldn't be made official in the next few hours or, at most, within the next day.

There remains disagreement over whether the English side will cover the Frenchman's entire salary, totalling 16 million euros, or if they will pay 75%. What is clear is that the Spaniards have accepted his departure with guarantees that they will make plenty of space on their wage bill.

The centre-back returns to the Premier League, following his loan last season with Tottenham, where he made 35 appearances, 32 of them as a starter, with one goal and two assists. His peformance in the English top flight however, didn't do enough to convince the higher-ups at Barcelona he would be a key figure for them.

Lenglet has a contract until 2026 with the Catalan side, so this loan is unlikely to spell the end of his Barca career, especially when Aston Villa have no option to buy him. The same debate will likely resurface next summer over whether he has done enough to earn a place under Xavi.

 

August 30, 2023