Italian giants pull out of race to sign exit-bound Barcelona centre-back

With just around a week remaining before Barcelona kickstart their new season preparations, the club are in desperate need of player sales.

Philippe Coutinho has been the only notable player leaving Barcelona so far this summer. Others must soon depart if the club are to balance the books and register newer players in the transfer market.

Among the players likely to leave Camp Nou, Clement Lenglet appeared to have emerged as a target for both AS Roma and Tottenham Hotspur this summer.

Roma were even interested in a permanent move for the Barcelona defender, who has fallen out of favour under Xavi.

But according to Gabriel Sans, Roma have decided to abandon their pursuit of Lenglet. They are not interested in bringing the Frenchman to the Italian capital, presumably due to his rapid fall from grace in the past year and a half.

Not to forget the Frenchman is one of the highest-earning defenders in La Liga. His salary makes him very difficult to acquire, even for financially well-off clubs like Tottenham.

Spurs are apparently ready to bring in Lenglet on a loan deal, but will not pay the full salary of the defender.

Lenglet is indeed a maligned figure at Barcelona, with the former Sevilla starlet emerging as one of the club’s biggest scapegoats since that 8-2 defeat at the hands of Bayern Munich.

Roma’s decision not to maintain their pursuit of Lenglet could be a major blow for Barcelona. But the club should remain hopeful of finding a suitor for the centre-back, who is still rated highly in the market despite his downfall in the past 18 months.