West Ham could land Barcelona defender Clement Lenglet on loan-to-buy deal
West Ham have made an approach for 26-year-old Barcelona centre-back Clement Lenglet, according to Spanish news outlet Sport.
The Frenchman, who earned his 13th international cap at Euro 2020 earlier this summer, is the subject of “great” interest from Premier League clubs West Ham and Everton, as per Sport’s report, and there has been talk of loan deals with mandatory purchase clauses inserted.
Barcelona’s well-documented financial woes could see them sanction Lenglet’s exit, and “everything is open”, though he is not on the “priority list”.25m
Italian giants Roma, now managed by former Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur boss Jose Mourinho, have also made moves to sign him.
However, it is claimed that if Lenglet has to move, he would prefer to move to England and the Premier League.
Quality competition
A new central defender looks to be high on David Moyes’ transfer list this summer after the exit of Paraguayan international Fabian Balbuena.
Craig Dawson, Angelo Ogbonna and Issa Diop are expected to be at the London Stadium this season, but with Europa League football on the agenda, a fourth option is integral.
Lenglet wouldn’t be coming to fill a spot, though – he would surely demand a place in the starting XI.
It will be hard to dislodge the formidable duo of Dawson and Ogbonna who struck up a healthy partnership last season, but they are both on the wrong side of 30 and cannot be relied upon to last the whole campaign.
Lenglet would provide stern competition and instantly raise the level of the defence.
He has fallen on hard times in recent years, often becoming the scapegoat of some woeful Barcelona displays.
Some of that can be contributed to some costly mistakes, but he remains a quality defender and is still very young.
A loan-to-buy deal would be sensible to see whether he can adjust to the Premier League.
In other West Ham news, ex-England hero urges club to sign this Champions League winner to save star’s Irons career.
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