Frenchman Clement Lenglet has become Tottenham Hotspur’s fifth signing of the season, the club confirmed on July 8. The left-footed central defender has joined the North London club on a season-long loan from FC Barcelona without a purchase option.
In their separate statement, the LaLiga giants affirmed that their English counterparts do not have an option to sign the 27-year-old on permanent basis at the end of his loan spell and would need to negotiate a permanent transfer separately if they so desire.
Lenglet arrives to fill the left-sided centre-back slot in Antonio Conte’s back three/five system, previously occupied by full-back Ben Davies in a makeshift role.
He becomes Spurs’ fifth signing of the season, following Ivan Perisic (Inter Milan), Fraser Forster (Southampton), Yves Bissouma (Brighton), and Richarlison (Everton) in through the training ground doors.
In his first sit-down with the club, Lenglet revealed his excitement for a fresh start in a new city with new teammates.
“I’m very excited to start the season with my new teammates, new stadium, new city. For me, all is new, but I’m hungry, I want to play, I want to be the best soccer player to help the team to win trophies and to fight in all the competitions.”
“First of all, I want to be a good team-mate, to be a defender who can be strong, aggressive and help the group to win the ball. It’s very important first of all to be a good defender, after that, a good player and to help the team.”
Barcelona triggered Lenglet’s 35 million euro release clause in the summer of 2018, forcing Sevilla into selling their star defender just after his breakout season.
He quickly became an important figure at his new club, playing 45, 40, and 48 games in his first three seasons, respectively. However, his minutes dipped in the 2021/22 season as the France international played just 27 games for the Blaugrana, with manager Xavi Hernandez preferring to pair Gerard Pique with Eric Garcia and Ronald Araujo instead.
