Barcelona defender Clement Lenglet says no to Saudi Arabia move

Barcelona needs to facilitate some exits in order to strengthen the squad. Ousmane Dembele should leave for PSG this week and the La Liga champions will use the funds generated to try and bring in Manchester City defender Joao Cancelo. French defender Clement Lenglet should also be on the move, but he would prefer to move to the Premier League with Tottenham and has reportedly turned down interest from Saudi club Al-Nassr FC.

According to a report in SPORT, Lenglet has no desire to play in the Saudi Pro League and has already agreed personal teams on a three-year contract with Tottenham.

The 28-year-old defender spent the 2022/23 season on loan with the North London club, and there is mutual interest in making it a permanent transfer.

Tottenham and Barcelona still can’t agree on a transfer fee for Clement Lenglet

Although the offer from Al-Nassr doesn’t seem overly attractive to Lenglet, it certainly would to Barcelona with the Saudi club willing to meet the Catalan club’s €15 million valuation.

Tottenham are only willing to offer a small fee for the services of Lenglet, knowing that Barcelona are keen to offload his contract and that the defender prioritises a move to the Premier League.

With Spurs set to head to Spain next week for the Joan Gamper Trophy match, it presents a perfect opportunity for the two sides to meet and negotiate a fair deal.

Unfortunately for Barcelona, most of the leverage sits with the ‘The Lilywhites’ and if Lenglet flat out refuses any approach other than Tottenham’s, they may be forced to sell him below market value.

Tottenham reportedly had an interest in bringing Franck Kessie to London, so maybe there is a deal to be had for both players to make the switch.

Part of the hold-up could be due to the ongoing negotiations between Tottenham and Bayern Munich for the transfer of England international Harry Kane.

The star striker is tipped to move on this summer with his contract set to expire in 2024, and although the two sides remain apart in the valuation, a deal is likely.

Tottenham can then use the funds generated by the sale of Kane to reinforce the rest of their squad, which is likely to include a centre-back and centre-midfield.

€15 million seems unlikely, but if Barcelona can secure a deal between €7-€10 million while removing Lenglet’s contract from the books, that would certainly help their financial situation.