Everton ask Barcelona about Clement Lenglet, player is open to loan exit
Everton have enquired about Barcelona defender Clement Lenglet with the player no longer needed at the Camp Nou, according to Sport in Spain.
The French centre-back has fallen down the pecking order under Xavi, having been a regular started for previous managers, and the Toffees need help in the department.
According to the report the club would prefer to sell him for €15million or above, but that will be “complicated”.
However, the 26-year-old France international is “more open to” a loan move, having previously turned down the chance to be used as an exchange in other Blaugrana transfers.
Newcastle, Tottenham and Arsenal also hold an interest but a potential stumbling block to any temporary deal is his sizeable wages, amounting to over €10million a year.
Value
The Toffees were linked with the former Sevilla man last summer, and had he been among their ranks this season it may have been a different story in the relegation battle.
Defence was a particular weakness for a significant period, as the absences of Yerry Mina and Ben Godfrey saw repeated collapses in away games and had the likes of Jamie Carragher trashing Michael Keane and company as “Championship level” on Sky Sports.
Cost is surely the main factor here as it seems like the sort of transfer that would have been done straight away in previous years, and probably for too high a price.
The club only spent £1.7million on Demarai Gray last summer due to the financial agreement they are working with the Premier League on.
Money is thought to be tight again this year, but with players leaving at the ends of their contracts and potential sales on the horizon there should be scope to add someone like Lenglet if the price is right.
The Catalans have their own budget constraints so if the Frenchman is unwilling to lower his wages to make a permanent move then a loan deal would be better than nothing from their side, as wages shared between both clubs would be cheaper than retaining a player on full pay who is not needed.
If it could be negotiated to a point where there is value in the deal it could be worth pursuing, but if either the player or his current club want to make it expensive it probably would be unviable at this point.
In other Everton news, a European finalist have been told to go after a talented young Toffee for next season.
Be sure to follow Goodison News on Facebook for 24/7 updates on Everton plus more exclusive interviews with Kevin Campbell.