Tottenham Hotspur are on the verge of signing Barcelona defender Clement Lenglet this summer, according to reports out of Spain.
Who will Spurs sign?
Spurs, lead by new manager Ange Postecoglou, are now beginning their preparations for the 2023/2024 season with the Lilywhites' boss holding one of his first press conferences the other day.
The charismatic Australian has discussed many topics, including his desire to implement a more attacking-style of football and his delight at Tottenham's transfer business so far.
The north Londoners have sealed deals for goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, England international James Maddison for £45 million, winger Manor Solomon on a free transfer and Dejan Kulusevski on a permanent deal from Juventus.
Maddison, who was a shining light in Leicester City's relegated side last term, is a player Postecoglou is particularly enthralled by.
“Any manager will tell you that part of the key to being a dominant team is having multiple attacking threats and having a midfielder who can score and create goals – they’re not easy to come by,” Postecoglou said.
“James has proven himself as somebody who can do that. When you look at Tottenham over the last few years, they’ve been really reliant on the front three to get their goals. I thought it was a really good fit for us to look for a player like James.
“He’s in a stage of his career where it feels like he can be a leader, which is great because we need players who want to embrace that responsibility.”
The focus for Tottenham is now shoring up their leaky defence with star centre-back signings, coming after a campaign which saw them leak 63 league goals.
Wolfsburg defender Micky van de Ven, Edmond Tapsoba of Bayer Leverkusen, Fulham's Tosin Adarabioyo, Galatasary star Victor Nelsson and Lenglet have all been linked with Spurs in the last fortnight.
Reliable media sources claim Tottenham are close to sealing an agreement for van de Ven, but other sections of the press believe Spurs could make more than one signing at centre-back.
Lenglet, who spent the 22/23 season on loan at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, could well join van de Ven shortly going by an update from Mundo Deportivo.
According to the Spanish outlet, and their news editor Javier Gascon, the Frenchman is "about to close" his move to Spurs, but if the transfer can't be sorted in this next week, he will travel on Barca's US tour and wait to resolve his future.
Lenglet was given permission not to train until July 18 as the La Liga champions attempt to offload their £204,000-per-week defender.
How good is Clement Lenglet?
Making 28 league appearances for Spurs last season, the former Sevilla star was a regular under Antonio Conte, with very few Spurs players managing a higher passing accuracy (87.5%) than Lenglet (WhoScored).
The 28-year-old has also been praised by his compatriot, Hugo Lloris, who called the centre-back a "high level" and "modern" defender last year.
"He's a modern defender," said Lloris.
"Comfortable to be able to play from the back. He has a great left foot and can be very strong in one v one and he's strong in the air.
"Even if it's never easy when you arrive in the Premier League and he will have to adapt to the intensity of the games but he is a high level player, with experience."