Clement Lenglet is not getting much playing time at Aston Villa and it is worrying Barcelona.
The 28-year-old is currently on loan at the Premier League side but has been unable to win the trust of Unai Emery to earn adequate minutes.
Barcelona hoped that he would do as good or even better than he did at Tottenham Hotspur last season so that they can move him on in January or in the summer of 2024 at the end of the ongoing season. This plan looks to have hit a brick wall with Lenglet’s sparse playing time.
The LaLiga defending champions hoped to find a solution as early as January because they are trying to create space on their books for the registration of Victor Roque who they desperately need to provide adequate backup for Robert Lewandowski.
The Catalan giants also have penned down the acquisition of a pivot as a key need for the squad.
Both Roque and the pivot’s arrival can be pushed to the summer of 202r if need be but Xavi is hoping that the club can find a solution in January.
Lenglet is one of those who the club want to take off their books. He has been used mostly in the UEFA Europa Conference League by Emery but has not made a single appearance in the Premier League after 11 weeks.
This lack of game time, according to reports, is of concern to Barcelona because it is devaluing the player, who they could not sell for an asking price of €15 million in the summer.
At this rate, the club are skeptical about the coming transfer windows. Still, they cannot terminate his loan deal because Aston Villa are handling a good chunk of his salary. Bringing him back in January could set the club back to their hefty financial records which they were mandated to reduce.
Meanwhile, they also intend to begin renewal talks with Ronald Araujo, the scorer of their late winner against Real Sociedad over the weekend.
Araujo is Barcelona through and through but the club do not want him free to be approached for any kind of transfer away. His current contract expires in 2026 but they want to keep him till at least 2028, when he will be 29.
Araujo is the club’s fourth captain and one of the youngest to wear the armband officially for Barcelona. He is valuable and considered one of the untouchables in a squad where everyone is up for sale or transfer.
