During last summer’s transfer window, Aston Villa parted with more than £4m to sign Nicolo Zaniolo on loan from Turkish club Galatsaray with a conditional obligation to buy. If certain criteria are hit, Villa will pay a guaranteed £19m to sign Zaniolo, and potentially up to £13m more in add-ons.
Based on recent reports in Italy, though, that’s far from a certainty. Milan, Napoli and Fiorentina are all looking into a deal in the summer, so there’s clearly a realistic chance that he won’t reach the obligation-to-buy threshold. Zaniolo himself is said to be keen to return to his homeland to boost his prospects with the national team.
Zaniolo wasn’t the only temporary addition made by Unai Emery, but there’s no option to buy in the case of Clement Lenglet. Villa are covering 75% of the Barcelona player’s salary but, unless they make a satisfactory permanent offer, he’ll automatically return to the Nou Camp in the summer.
Last month, Milan held talks over a deal for Lenglet, but Villa were reluctant to cancel their loan agreement, and now there’s a chance that he could end up staying in the Midlands long-term.
Villa may make permanent Lenglet push
According to Spanish outlet Sport, via Sport Witness, Villa may sign Lenglet permanently in the off-season. His “good performances” in recent weeks could lead them to “take the step” of tabling a formal bid.
Barcelona will “try to sell” the Frenchman because they want to get his wages off the books, but it’s unclear whether they’ll be willing to entertain a cut-price deal. Lenglet is believed to be “one of the highest earners” at the club right now, but the Blaugrana are of course only paying a quarter of his salary as it stands.
“Amazing” Lenglet is enjoying best spell
Lenglet has played 14 games for Villa in all competitions. At first, most of his game time came in the Europa Conference League, where he started five of Villa’s six group-stage matches, but then an injury to Pau Torres presented an opening for the Premier League. Having been left on the bench for 14 straight top-flight matches at the beginning of his Villa career, he’s now rattled off six consecutive top flight starts.
Clement Lenglet matches | Score | SofaScore rating |
|---|---|---|
Sheffield United (H) | D 1-1 | 6.9/10 |
Manchester United (A) | L 3-2 | 7.0/10 |
Burnley (H) | W 3-2 | 6.6/10 |
Everton (A) | D 0-0 | 7.5/10 |
Newcastle (H) | L 3-1 | 7.2/10 |
Sheffield United (A) | W 5-0 | 7.3/10 |
Speaking at the end of December, Emery was effusive in praise for Lenglet’s attitude: “I am very happy with him. His commitment in every training session is amazing. He is a very good professional and always ready to play. The last matches he was sick, he was with us in Zrinjski. He was better at Brentford but still a little bit sick.
“Other players maybe wouldn’t be with the squad if they were feeling like he was. I am wishing to see him and am really very excited about how he will help us and in the next matches.”
Related
Aston Villa now reach “agreement” over new deal for “scintillating” star
Villa are rewarding the player for the best form of his career in the Midlands.
Torres has now returned for Villa, so it remains to be seen whether Lenglet keeps his place in the side, but with Emery’s men set to compete in the Conference League knockout stage as they fight for a top-four finish, there should still be plenty of opportunities regardless.
