The Athletic have now revealed that Tottenham’s desire to complete their signings early was a key reason why the club decided to step up their pursuit of Clement Lenglet over their other left centre-back options.
If some of the reports over recent days are to be believed, Lenglet is now close to completing a season-long loan move to Spurs (Sport). In fact, Fabrizio Romano has now given the deal his ‘here we go’ seal of approval.
The Athletic report that Josko Gvardiol, Alessandro Bastoni, Nico Schlotterbeck and Sven Botman were all ahead of Lenglet in Tottenham’s wish list when the summer transfer window opened.
However, it is explained that Leipzig were demanding a huge fee for Gvardiol while Inter were reluctant to let Bastoni go.
In addition, Schlotterbeck was said to be keen to remain in Germany and Tottenham reportedly felt that Botman would not be a good fit for the back three, which is why they allowed the Dutchman to go to Newcastle.
So, rather than waiting until later in the transfer window, hoping that Leipzig or Inter change their stance on Gvardiol or Bastoni, Antonio Conte’s men allegedly decided to bring in Lenglet to add experience and competition to their backline.
It is asserted that a move for the Frenchman represents something of a ‘compromise’ from Spurs, with the club viewing the 27-year-old as a temporary ‘stop-gap’.
Spurs Web Opinion
Rather than spending relatively big money on Sven Botman or Pau Torres, who might not be ideal fit for Antonio Conte’s back three, it makes sense for the club to use Lenglet as a temporary stop-gap, and try again to sign one of Bastoni or Gvardiol next summer.
Keep up to date with all the latest Tottenham news and opinion by following SpursWeb’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.
