Tottenham spring shock as Postecoglou decides against signing Conte loanee despite Levy willingness
Tottenham have released their confirmed departures list for the summer, which includes loanee Clement Lenglet, despite the defender having been close to a full agreement.
After the January 2022 signings of Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski helped Spurs to their first top-four finish for three seasons, former boss Antonio Conte continued to recruit useful assets in the summer.
The Italian welcomed eight players through the door, including Richarlison, Ivan Perisic and Lenglet.
The snares did not help Tottenham build on their fourth-placed finish the season prior. Indeed, they fell all the way to eighth this season, and Conte bit the bullet mid-way through the season.
That came as a result of a rant on his own “selfish” players after a draw with Southampton.
Ange Postecoglou is now in to pick up the pieces. What Conte wanted for his side will likely be very different for the ex-Celtic manager, as he looks to turn around a poor run.
He’s already apparently ready to make a statement by shipping out Eric Dier, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Davinson Sanchez.
The former pair were leaders in Conte’s dressing room, so the decision to let them go immediately shows how different things could be under Postecoglou.
Tottenham release Lenglet in shock turnaround
Another big decision has been made that shows where the Australian will differ from his predecessor.
Indeed, Tottenham have released the list of players that will exit the club this summer. On it is Lenglet, who will return to Barcelona following his season-long loan in north London.
That might not be a massive shock, had it not appeared that Spurs were going to sign him. At the back end of May, it was reported chairman Levy was eager to keep him on at the club beyond his loan spell.
The suggestion was that Spurs would pay £17.4million to the La Liga giants in order to take the Frenchman off their hands. That was a fee that Levy was reportedly ‘willing to meet’.
Of course, that was before Postecoglou had been announced as the new boss.
As such, it seems he’s stepped in the way of the transfer and decided he didn’t want to keep the defender that Conte brought to the club.
Lenglet played 26 times in the league, as well as making seven Champions League appearances. While he didn’t cover himself in glory, nobody barring Harry Kane did at Spurs this season.
Lenglet clearly made an impression on people at the club for them to want to sign him permanently. However, it seems he doesn’t fit what Postecoglou is looking for, and the boss is not afraid to move people on to shape the team how he wants it.
It could certainly be a positive for Tottenham to know he’s ready to be stern to get what he wants.
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