AC Milan have enquired about the availability of Aston Villa defender Clement Lenglet, who is currently on a season-long loan from Barcelona.
That is according to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, who claims that Clement Lenglet is on their shortlist of defensive targets, alongside Matteo Gabbia and Arsenal’s Jakub Kiwior.
After featuring regularly for Tottenham Hotspur last season, Aston Villa thought the capture of Lenglet was a shrewd one, however, it hasn’t worked out as Unai Emery would have envisaged.
Villa have propelled themselves into the race for the Premier League title, only two points behind leaders Liverpool, and the Frenchman has played no part in that exceptional start.
How has Clement Lenglet performed this season?
Praised by pundit John Wenham for “going under the radar” in North London last term, the £150k-a-week titan has gone under the radar for all the wrong reasons at Villa Park having rarely featured.
Despite playing in all but one of their Europa Conference League matches, the 28-year-old is yet to feature for Emery in the top flight.
It has to be said, he has shone on the biggest stage for the Villans this term, but he’s not been allowed to showcase his defensive qualities in the Premier League and Barca are reportedly growing impatient with Villa.
It also hasn’t come as a surprise that Emery has favoured his permanent defensive options, Pau Torres, Ezri Konsa and Diego Carlos, who have all been magnificent.
That said, the Villans do still have a huge decision to make over his future.
Lenglet is currently the fourth option at centre-back but if they were to lose him, that would leave Torres, Konsa, Carlos and Calum Chambers as senior players in that area.
Emery may deem that enough depth, however, an injury or two in that position could be detrimental if Barca choose to sell the Frenchman to AC Milan.
Would losing Lenglet be a big loss?
If Villa are to go deep into European competition and at least challenge for the top four in the Premier League, losing Lenglet would be a big miss
The Barca star has shown he’s more than capable of stepping up to the plate having averaged 5.4 balls recovered per game, won 64% of his total duels and averaged a 93% pass completion in Europe, as per Sofascore.
He also provides cover as a left-footed centre-back which is always useful and has rarely put a foot wrong in the Conference League.
If he does depart Villa Park earlier than intended, supporters will have been robbed of seeing him showcase his true qualities in claret and blue.
Saying that, it looks an impossible task for most to get into the Villa defence at the moment, so Lenglet shouldn’t be too downbeat.
