Star Barcelona defender nearing a move to La Liga rivals

FC Barcelona has been on the lookout to make space to register star players like Dani Olmo, Gavi, and Inigo Martinez. Regarding the same, the Blaugrana club has opened the gates for potential player moves for big names like Clement Lenglet, Vitor Roque, and Ansu Fati. While Vitor Roque's situation is currently sandwiched between Sporting and Everton, and Fati's future is uncertain, the club's expectations are from Lenglet's deal.

Clement Lenglet nearing a move to Atletico Madrid

Marca's reports from a few days ago had suggested the club's opinion regarding Lenglet's Barca future clearly. The report mentioned that Lenglet will leave Barcelona in the next few days. Moreover, it read that Deco had begun talks with his agent, Gregory Dakad, at the Sports City today to discuss the economic terms of his loan move.

Given Lenglet's massive salary of €16M at the club that too with two years left on his contract, his stay was looking difficult at Barcelona, and now it seems that he is nearing a move. While many possible destinations were available for the Frenchman, Atletico Madrid has been the player's preferred choice.

Having spent a considerable time of his career in the La Liga, Lenglet is familiar with the league's playstyle and imagines him continuing here. Moreover, for Atletico Madrid, who are looking for a left-footed center-back, Lenglet seems the ideal option. Initially, Villarreal was a competitive option for Lenglet's future, but being aware of the player's choice, the club has given up on him.

Thus, currently, Atletico stands in the best position to acquire the French center-back. Negotiations between Atléti and Barcelona for Clement Lenglet began days ago but still haven't been finalized as the player's high salary needs to be balanced. Moreover, Rojiblancos wants to make sure they don't miss out on their priorities before finally going for him.

According to recent reports, Lenglet's most probable next-season destination seems to be Atletico Madrid. However, the club still has to negotiate with Barça on how much of his salary they would pay. FC Barcelona would try to negotiate their best to settle on a considerable amount of the player's salary so as to make significant space in their salary space.

Overall, Clement Lenglet is as close as ever to joining Atletico Madrid. FC Barcelona would hope to settle the Frenchman's saga as soon as possible to get hold of his salary space for registering key players ahead of the 2024/25 campaign.