FC Barcelona Finalizing First $15 Million Summer Sale To Premier League: Reports

FC Barcelona are closing in on making their first sale of the summer to a Premier
PINC
League club, according to SPORT.

The Blaugrana badly need to balance the books ahead of the 2023/2024 season if they wish to make new signings and register the new contracts of existing stars after being publicly warned by La Liga president Javier Tebas to shed €200 million ($220 million) from the wage bill.

Aside from salary reductions, offloading those that are surplus to requirements is the main way to try and strike deals such as the potential return of the club’s greatest ever player Lionel Messi a reality.

In Xavi Hernandez’s first team, the likes of Ansu Fati, Raphinha and Ferran Torres are all on the chopping block and have suitors in the Premier League – which is also where Barca will do their first bit of business in the transfer market according to SPORT.

They report that Barca are close to finalizing a €14 million ($15.3 million) agreement for Clement Lenglet with Tottenham Hotspur, which is a win-win for both teams.

Once a starter under Ernesto Valverde after joining from Sevilla in 2018, the former France international does not feature in Xavi’s plans moving forward.

He has impressed on loan in north London, however, and the “excellent” internal reports Spurs have on him “on a personal and professional level” have led them to want to make his temporary stay permanent.

Furthermore, left-footed center backs – and especially those with Lenglet’s top level experience – are very expensive in the current market making the signing a no-brainer.

The Catalan daily newspaper reports how the two parties are already in talks to finalize the deal, which Barca are in a hurry to complete before June 30 for accounting purposes.

Additionally, this is also the date that sporting director Mateu Alemany will leave his post to take up a position at Spurs’ English top flight rivals in Birmingham, Aston Villa.

The news regarding Lenglet comes after Fabrizio Romano reported that Premier League clubs Newcastle United, Liverpool and Manchester United sent scouts to watch ex-Barca defender Jean Clair-Todibo in action for Nice last weekend.

If any of those outfits, or another European force, meets his rumored €45 million ($48.8 million) price tag, Barca would stand to pocket €9 million ($9.7 million) because of a clause that stipulates they will make 20% from any future sale of the 23-year-old.