Out-of-favour Barcelona defender Clement Lenglet has emerged as a shock transfer target for Newcastle United who have made an enquiry for him.
According to a report from Catalan publication SPORT, Newcastle United have asked La Liga giants Barcelona about the availability of defender Clement Lenglet as they eye a January swoop for the Frenchman.
Lenglet arrived at Barcelona in the summer of 2018 from fellow La Liga club Sevilla. The 26-year-old instantly became a regular in the first-team at Camp Nou at the expense of compatriot Samuel Umtiti and enjoyed a solid couple of seasons. However, the France international endured a difficult campaign last time out and has since fallen out of favour.
Indeed, manager Ronald Koeman has preferred to use Gerard Pique, Eric Garcia, Ronald Araujo and Oscar Mingueza ahead of Lenglet in the ongoing season. This has meant that the 26-year-old has featured just four times in 2021/22, amounting to a total of just 95 minutes. As a result, he has been linked with an exit in January, with former employers Sevilla keen.
Now, Newcastle United have also emerged as a potential destination for the Barcelona centre-back. The Magpies are the talk of the town following their massive takeover earlier this month. Given the deep pockets of their new owners, the Premier League club are expected to go big in the January transfer window as they look to turn their fortunes around.
Indeed, Newcastle United have been linked with several high-profile players like Kalidou Koulibaly, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Timo Werner, among others, while Barcelona’s Philippe Coutinho has also emerged as a subject of transfer interest. Now, Lenglet, too, is on the radars of the Tyneside outfit, as per the aforementioned report.
It is stated that Newcastle are looking for a left-footed centre-half to add to their roster in January. While they have a host of central defenders on their roster already, not many possess the ball-playing abilities that someone like Lenglet can bring to the table. With a change of managers expected, a change in playing style is likely to be on the cards as well.
With that in mind, someone of Lenglet’s skills and top-level experience might come in handy for the Magpies. However, they could find it difficult to convince the Frenchman to trade Camp Nou for St. James’ Park. It remains to be seen if there is a serious approach made in the coming weeks and if so, it will be interesting to see if the 26-year-old will consider joining the new project in place at Tyneside.
