As January hypothesis builds, Aston Villa leave Barcelona ‘seriously anxious’ about big earner’s future.

As January hypothesis builds, Aston Villa leave Barcelona ‘seriously anxious’ about big earner’s future.

According to Spanish media, Barcelona are concerned that Clement Lenglet’s market worth is falling during his loan stay with Aston Villa.

Lenglet joined Aston Villa on loan late in the summer transfer window after spending the previous season with Tottenham Hotspur via a similar mechanism. When Barcelona tried to sell him, they couldn’t find a deal that worked for all sides, so they sanctioned his temporary transfer to Unai Emery’s side.

However, Lenglet’s only three outings for Aston Villa have been in the Europa Conference League (albeit he has played 90 minutes in all of their group games). On the flipside, he has gone unnoticed in all eight Premier League games since his arrival.

According to Diario Sport, this has seriously disturbed’ Barcelona. The current La Liga winners are ready to offload Lenglet in 2024 since he is a big earner whose salary they would prefer to keep off the books permanently.

The longer he sits on Aston Villa’s bench, the less chance he has of retaining a decent market value ahead of a prospective permanent transfer.

Aston Villa do not have an option to acquire Lenglet at the end of the season, thus it is unclear where he will play next. A decision in this regard may come sooner than expected.

Although there are now no intentions to terminate his loan in January, the source indicates that if Lenglet’s situation does not improve, Barcelona will be forced to consider it.

They’d then attempt to send him somewhere else during the winter window to get his career – and marketability – back on track.

There is a possibility that Lenglet will be pursued by other clubs, as he is an experienced left-footed centre-back, a position that can be scarce.

Should Lenglet have joined a different club?

He had suitors in Saudi Arabia over the summer, but he was not interested in joining Al-Nassr, who later hired Aymeric Laporte from Manchester City to fill a similar role.

Furthermore, Sport reports that Lenglet could have returned to La Liga with Sevilla or Atletico Madrid if either club could have afforded him – but they couldn’t.

Lenglet will have to fight for his spot at Aston Villa for the foreseeable future. He was expected to offer cover for fellow left-footed centre-back Tyrone Mings, who is now sidelined, but fellow summer arrival Pau Torres, who is also left-footed, has been preferred in that role alongside right-footed Ezri Konsa instead.

Lenglet is under contract with his parent club until 2026, when he will be 31 years old. The longer it takes to get rid of him, the more difficult it may be for Barcelona.

Indeed, he was a regular for Tottenham last season, so if Barcelona failed to sell him after that, it will be considerably more difficult in light of his current circumstances.