The wait to close the red and white defence is over. After a crazy summer of arrivals and departures, Atlético de Madrid has made official the signing of Clement Lenglet , the centre-back chosen to fill the gap left by Mario Hermoso . He started to be mentioned a few weeks ago when negotiations with DavidHancko began to break down, being one of the most viable options for Gil Marín .
According to Fabrizio Romano, the world champion arrives on loan without an option to buy from FC Barcelona . In addition, Belén Sánchez from Jugones reports that the arrival of Clement Lenglet will cost Atlético de Madrid 3M in salary + 1M in bonuses for the loan. An operation that has caused some surprise on social networks due to the Frenchman's last few years in elite football, having had two unsuccessful PremierLeague loans.
And the 30-year-old left-footed centre-back Clement Lenglet has not managed to settle at FC Barcelona , despite having had several moments of great quality with the Blaugrana team. However, the player's performance was declining until the club from the Catalan city decided that it was best to loan him out to Tottenham and Aston Villa in the Premier League . Places where he has not managed to recover the expected level either, so his contribution to Diego Pablo Simeone 's plans will have to be closely monitored.
Close defense at Atletico Madrid
The signing of Clement Lenglet definitively closes the defensive line of the club colchonero. An area of the field that, after the disastrous numbers it accumulated last season, urgently needed remodeling. They started on the right foot by giving out players like Mario Hermoso , Stefan Savic or Gabriel Paulista , but the signings have left the red-and-white fans with a bad taste in their mouths.
And despite having signed Robin Le Normand , the recent Euro champion, many people expected a bigger step up in level with Lenglet . In addition, the club spoke of a generational change by reducing the average age of the defence, but the additions of Sorloth,Juilán Alvarez and Conor Gallagher have complicated things. In this way, Clement Lenglet arrives at Atlético de Madrid as the signing with the most unknowns in the entire market.
However, we must not forget that he is still an elite footballer, who at one time interested FC Barcelona and who is a world champion with France in 2018. In addition, together with Reinildo , he is the only left-footed centre-back that Simeone will have at his disposal in the line of three, so it would not be strange if he were an important piece. Be that as it may, Clement Lenglet arrives as the penultimate signing of a historic market for Atlético de Madrid , as goalkeeper Juan Musso is expected to replace Moldovan imminently.
As things stand, Diego Pablo Simeone's defence will be made up of Axel Witsel (35), César Azpilicueta (34), Reinildo Mandava (30), Clement Lenglet (29), Josema Giménez (29) and Le Normand (27). A slightly veteran defence, and one that the Argentine coach will have to manage intelligently in order to get the best out of each one. Because, in such a long season with the Club World Cup , depth will be more important than ever.