Tottenham Hotspur have confirmed the signing of defender Clement Lenglet on loan from Barcelona.
A busy summer for Spurs has already seen them add Richarlison, Ivan Perisic, Yves Bissouma and Fraser Forster to the squad, with Lenglet joining for the 2022/23 campaign as the fifth addition to Antonio Conte’s squad.
The French centre-back, 27, is a full France international with 15 caps and has been at Barcelona since 2018, though has not always had an easy time of matters at the Camp Nou and fell out of favour under Xavi Hernandez in the second half of last season until injuries elsewhere forced a late recall to the starting line-up.
Spurs note the deal is subject to international clearance and a work permit being issued.
Conte has been searching for at least one centre-back to add to his squad, with Lenglet likely to challenge Ben Davies for the left-sided spot in the manager’s back three.
Prior to his spell in Catalunya, where he has won the league title and Copa del Rey, Lenglet played for Nancy in France and Sevilla in Spain. He was also part of the France squad at Euro 2020 last summer.
Earlier on Friday, Spurs also confirmed the permanent departure of Steven Bergwijn.
The Dutch winger had been unable to tie down a regular starting spot under Conte and returns to the Eredivisie after agreeing a transfer to Ajax on a club-record deal worth €31.25m (£26.4m).
Bergwijn was an Ajax academy player before heading to PSV, where he made his breakthrough, ahead of a switch to north London in 2020.
He made 81 appearances for Tottenham, scoring eight, which included a stoppage-time brace in an incredible late turnaround against Leicester City last sason.
Bergwijn has signed a five-year deal through to 2027 with Ajax.
