Everton are reportedly willing to pay €20 million to swoop French defender Clement Lenglet away from Barcelona this summer.
According to a report by Spanish publication AS, Everton appear to be stepping up their efforts to sign Clement Lenglet in the summer transfer window. The Premier League giants are prepared to offer €20 million to secure the services of the French defender, who appears set to leave Barcelona.
Clement Lenglet made his way to Barcelona from Sevilla in the summer of 2018 and made quite an impression in his maiden campaign at Camp Nou. Since then, though, the 26-year-old defender has endured a steady decline, with 2020/21 being a season to forget for him.
To date, Lenglet has made 133 appearances for Barcelona, chipping in with seven goals and two assists along the way. The French international, though, is facing an uncertain future at the Catalan club, who are looking to offload several players to balance their books this summer. And the French international could be headed to the Premier League next, with Everton keen on signing him.
The interest from Everton is not too surprising, seeing as former Barcelona defender Yerry Mina is touted to be on the exit trail at Goodison Park. Rafael Benitez, thus, needs a long-term replacement for the Colombian defender, with Lenglet being a viable target, who could even prove to be an upgrade for the Toffees.
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Apart from Lenglet, Chelsea defender Kurt Zouma is also on Everton’s radar while there have been recent links with Kalidou Koulibaly as well. However, it looks like the Merseyside outfit are pressing ahead with their interest in Lenglet, with an offer being formulated for the Barcelona centre-back.
The report claims that the Premier League giants are prepared to fork out around €20 million to secure the services of the 26-year-old, with Barcelona ready to part ways with him. What the report does not mention is that whether the Blaugrana will be happy to receive such a sum or demand a higher figure in exchange of Lenglet’s services.
Meanwhile, Lenglet is seemingly content at Camp Nou and does not wish to leave Barcelona this summer, although that decision could well be out of his hands. What now remains to be seen is if Everton can succeed with their €20 million offer for Lenglet, or if they are forced to raise their bid to land the French defender.
