Atlético de Madrid has made official this Monday the arrival of Clément Lenglet (Beauvais, France; 29 years old), loaned by Barcelona for a season in exchange for four million euros, three of them fixed and one conditional on easy-to-achieve targets. The centre-back was the second option that the sporting management was considering. The red-and-white club’s salary cap prevented the signing of the Slovak centre-back David Hancko (Feyenoord). The liquidity in the coffers allowed Atlético to meet the 35 million euros that the Dutch club was asking for, but it barely had a margin of one million euros in the 300 that mark its ceiling for salary spending.
The club is happy with the deal, considering that for just four million euros you get a French international (15) who had peak performances at both Sevilla and Barcelona, which paid the Sevillian club 36 million euros in the summer of 2018. In the last two seasons, Lenglet also played on loan in the Premier League, where he played 26 games with Tottenham and 14 with Aston Villa.
The question is whether Lenglet will catch Simeone’s eye as a replacement for Mario Hermoso. The latter rejected a renewal offer in November last year in hopes of signing one of his last contracts on a higher salary. According to the club, Hermoso tried to rectify his situation in the last months of last season, but was met with a refusal from the red-and-white leadership.
Simeone was looking for a two-for-one to complete the squad, a strong defender who could contribute to the construction of the play from the back. The team was used to the ball coming out offered by the Madrid centre-back. Cholo’s doubt is whether Lenglet will dare to position himself in the opposing half to give passes that break lines.
Lenglet, whose contract has been extended by Barcelona for another year, until 2026, to reduce his amortisation, was earning around 14 million euros gross this season. The high salary is due to the salary that was deferred during the pandemic. The Frenchman was in the box at the Metropolitano on Sunday watching the match between Atlético and Girona, and his new club intends to present him this Monday after training.
Atlético also intends to announce the signing of Argentine goalkeeper Juan Musso (30 years old) from Atalanta shortly, after Horatiu Moldovan left Atlético to play for Italian side Sassuolo. Signed halfway through last season, the Romanian goalkeeper leaves Atlético without having made his debut.
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