Since Xavi Hernandez took over as head coach of Barcelona in November 2021, Clement Lenglet has not been in his plans. The Frenchman struggled since his move from Sevilla, and has been pushed down the order significantly over the last two years.
In the summer of 2022, he joined Tottenham Hotspur on a season-long loan, but failed to make a significant impact in North London. This summer, he returned to the Premier League, this time joining Aston Villa for the 2023-24 season. Somehow, this time there has been even less productive.
Lenglet has yet to play a single minute in the Premier League, although he has played all three of Aston Villa’s Europa Conference League group stages matches. However, Barcelona are annoyed at the situation, and Sport say that they are considering re-calling Lenglet in January to loan him out to a club in Spain.
The report states that Real Betis and Sevilla are two of the clubs keen on loaning Lenglet, and provided the regulations allow it, Barcelona will look to send him to one of these clubs if his situation at Aston Villa doesn’t improve over the next few weeks.
For now, Aston Villa are said to be happy with Lenglet, who will start for them against AZ Alkmaar on Thursday. Barcelona will keep monitoring the situation up until the winter transfer window.
