Many left him during his first loan to Tottenham two years ago, when others saw him again fleetingly during PSG – Atlético at the beginning of November, a meeting during which he did not make an impression, and it ‘is an understatement. But this failed performance by Clément Lenglet against the Parisians does not say everything about the dimension he is taking on with the Colchoneros. This summer, the former French international experienced his third consecutive loan, after his first two stints in the Premier League with Spurs and Aston Villa.
According to the cliché formula, we say “never two without three”and the third seems to be the right one. If he has often been considered in recent seasons as an option, more than an obvious choice, Lenglet returns to Barcelona this evening as a starter. For two months, the player trained in Nancy has been performing very well, and his incorporation into the Atlético eleven (Norman was injured) coincides with the crazy series of the Colchoneros, who remain on 11 consecutive victories. It was enough to convince Diego Simeone and his management to keep him.
A 0 euro transfer?
As revealed A.S.Atlético has already expressed its intentions to Barcelona, namely to keep the player for free in June. Happy in Madrid, the 29-year-old left-hander wants to settle there for the long term, and he should therefore reject all the offers that come his way this summer, while he remains under contract until 2027 with Barça. A situation which should force the Catalan club to release him for free, or for a symbolic amount.
In recent seasons, Atlético had already made several big moves by going to Barcelona. It is in much the same way that the Colchoneros were able to recover Antoine Griezmann for a pittance after his failure in Barcelona, but also David Villa, Luis Suarez, also champion of Spain with Atlético in 2021, or Memphis Depay again. Barça knows the threat that awaits them for a player bought for 35 million euros in 2018.
