Napoli enter race for veteran Barcelona defender

A few weeks ago we reported that Barcelona were ready to gamble with Clement Lenglet. Tottenham have been consistently linked with the centre-back after he spent a year on loan with the North London side, but they’ve failed to put an offer on the table deemed acceptable. Barcelona gambled that Lenglet’s market would eventually grow, and that gamble appears to be paying off.

Since that report, we’ve seen interest from Marseille, AC Milan and Saudi team Al-Nassr. Lenglet has already said no to a move to the Saudi Pro League, but now Napoli are reportedly interested in the 28-year-old.

That according to a report by SPORT, who suggest that Lenglet is being targeted as a replacement for Kim Min-Jae, who the Italian champions lost to Bayern Munich earlier this summer. With his experience in both La Liga and the Premier League, Lenglet is seen as the perfect replacement for Gli Azzurri as they embark on the defence of their title.

Lenglet’s preference is to return to the Premier League with Tottenham

As we’ve said many times here at Everything Barca, our understanding based on numerous reports is that Lenglet’s preference is to return to London. Some reports have even suggested that the French defender has already agreed to personal terms with Daniel Levy’s Tottenham.

The sticking point with that transfer is the fee. Tottenham wants to secure him on a cut-price deal, knowing that Barcelona needs his salary off the books, whereas Barca wants €15 million for him considering his experience and ability.

If neither team are willing to compromise that puts Lenglet in an interesting situation. He can refuse to move anywhere else and sit on the bench all year with Barca, knowing that Xavi has no intention of playing him. Or he can move to somewhere like AC Milan or Napoli, and compete in the Champions League.

As of today the only team willing to match the €15 million valuation is Saudi team Al-Nassr, but with Lenglet already having turned them down, we’re back to playing the waiting game.