He is on loan at Atlético
Lenglet will face Barça after rising from the ashes as a colchonero
The French centre-back is taking advantage of the opportunities that Diego Pablo Simeone has given him and has managed to carve out a place for himself in the red-and-white team's formation
Clément Lenglet's summer has been very complicated. FC Barcelona had been clear since he returned from his loan at Aston Villa that they did not want him in their ranks, something that was made clear to him. Numerous offers arrived, several from exotic destinations such as the Saudi Pro League or the Turkish Süper Lig, but the defender rejected them. The Frenchman was looking to join an elite club, as he felt ready to continue performing at the highest level. So, when Atlético de Madrid came along, he did not hesitate to bet on that route, even though it was not the one that Barça liked the most.
The negotiations with the red-and-white team were not at all simple. The high salary of the centre-back made his departure difficult, in addition to the fact that he rejected the letter of release on a couple of occasions. Knowing that the Catalan club wanted to get rid of the ex-Sevilla player, the Atlético team tightened the rope, knowing that they had the 'yes' of the player, until FC Barcelona finally agreed to loan him out and share his salary.
Lenglet takes advantage of opportunities
A priori, Lenglet's arrival was to complement the Madrid team's squad. His signing was made so that he could occupy the third central position, although an injury to Robin Le Normand allowed the 29-year-old footballer to come in as a starter. Thus, he has already accumulated 12 games between LaLiga, Champions League and Copa del Rey. A total of 951 minutes in which he has offered a good performance and has scored two goals. His good performance has caused Atlético to consider extending the loan of the defender, according to several media, taking advantage of the fact that he still has a year of contract with Barça and that the Catalan club will not want to count on his services or pay him his high salary.
This Saturday, at 9:00 p.m., the Colchoneros will visit the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys to face FC Barcelona in a duel that will determine who will lead the LaLiga table during the Christmas break. For the visitors, Clément Lenglet is expected to be in the starting line-up and, for the first time since he joined the Barcelona team in 2018, he will face the institution that owns his sporting rights.
