Barcelona will not give a letter of freedom to Tottenham target, talks over €10m deal ongoing

According to a report from Roger Torello of Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona will not grant a letter of freedom to Clement Lenglet this summer and are in talks to finalise his transfer to Tottenham Hotspur.

Barcelona have been working hard to get rid of players that are not in manager Xavi Hernandez’s plans. Having been unable to find suitors for Samuel Umtiti, the Catalans let him leave with a letter of freedom i.e., by mutually agreeing a termination of contract.

There had been chatter about a similar approach being followed with Lenglet as well given his high wages, lack of interest from clubs, and the need to get rid of him.

Tottenham, who are interested in Lenglet, were reported to be waiting for such a move from Barça so that they can swoop him up for free.

However, as per the aforementioned report, Barcelona will not be following the same approach they took with Umtiti when it comes to Lenglet.

Instead, talks are progressing with Tottenham over a transfer. The Catalans had been demanding a fee of €15 million for the French defender but the deal is likely to be completed for a figure around €10 million plus add-ons.

Ideally, Barcelona would prefer to finalise his exit at the earliest possible. However, things are unlikely to move that quickly and the operation may take two weeks or even more. As such, Lenglet is expected to join the pre-season camp which is set to start on July 10.

While the former Sevilla ace could do part of the pre-season under Xavi, a departure from Barcelona is very much on the cards.