Tottenham complete Lenglet loan transfer as Barcelona finally begin to free up some cash

Clement Lenglet has completed his loan move from Barcelona to Tottenham, becoming the latest summer signing for the north London outfit.

Lenglet is under contract at Barca until 2026, but has fallen down the pecking order under Xavi Hernandez, prompting the defender to seek a new challenge.

Spurs boss Antonio Conte has been on the lookout for centre-back depth ahead of the new campaign, and Lenglet arrives to provide competition for the likes of Cristian Romero, Eric Dier and Ben Davies.

Are Tottenham paying Lenglet's wages?
Tottenham will cover the majority of Lenglet's wages while he is in north London, 80% of the player's salary, with Barca compensating the rest.

Wélcome to Spurs, Clément Lenglet! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/PCDVAzun5c

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) July 8, 2022

No option or obligation to buy has been inserted into the terms of the deal, meaning Lenglet is likely to return to Camp Nou in the summer of 2023.

Why are Barcelona desperate to sell this summer?

It is no secret that Barcelona are in a dire financial situation. They have set some ambitious targets in the summer transfer window, and to finance those deals they must sell, or at the very least get wages off their books.

It is understood that they have to raise around €600m (£515m/$630m) before they can sign and register any of the star players on their summer transfer shortlist.

The likes of Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, Jules Kounde, Kalidou Koulibaly and Bernardo Silva are thought to be among their targets, while even Cristiano Ronaldo has been linked with the Catalan outfit.

And so while they plan to raise money by agreeing to non-footballing deals, such as selling 49.9 per cent of Barca Licensing and Merchandising (BLM) and 25 per cent of their income from La Liga's television rights, they are yet to find buyers.

An agreement has been reached with American investment firm Sixth Street over the sale of 10% of the club's TV rights for a period of 25 years, but that is only worth up to €267m

And so while new signings Franck Kessie and Andreas Christensen have been made official, they are yet to be registered, which can only be done when Barca have balanced their books.

You're not a Barcelona player until you've done the kick-ups 💙❤️ pic.twitter.com/qDCR4uQokP

— GOAL (@goal) July 6, 2022

Lenglet's loan move, then, will give chairman Joan Laporta a bit more breathing space to manoeuvre in the transfer market.

Are Tottenham winning the transfer window?

Tottenham have been one of the busiest Premier League clubs during the summer window as Conte looks to build on last season's fourth-placed finish and prepare his squad for its return to the Champions League.

Lenglet is the fifth senior arrival of the off-season, and joins new back-up goalkeeper Fraser Forster in bolstering the defensive third of the pitch.

Further forward, Spurs spent an initial £25m ($30m) on Brighton midfielder Yves Bissouma, while Ivan Perisic arrived on a free transfer from Inter.

The club's biggest outlay of the summer, though, was the £50m ($61m) they spent on Everton forward Richarlison, with the Brazil international adding to what was already a pretty fearsome attacking unit.

They are not done there, either. Reports suggest a deal to sign Middlesbrough right-back Djed Spence is close to completion and talks are ongoing with Villarreal regarding a move for left wing-back Pervis Estupinan.

Roma and Italy forward Nicolo Zaniolo has also been mooted as a target, though the arrival of Richarlison may have put pay to that one, with Juventus among the other clubs keen on the 23-year-old.