Clement Lenglet leaving Aston Villa could allow Emery to ‘grow his team’

Aston Villa’s Clement Lenglet could see his loan move at Villa Park terminated by parent club Barcelona in the coming weeks.

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery might sanction the termination of Clement Lenglet’s loan as it could allow him to “continue to grow his team”, as transfer insider Dean Jones considers the centre-back’s future at GIVEMESPORT.

The Villans have enjoyed a fantastic start to the 2023/24 Premier League campaign and have secured their progression to the last-16 of the Europa Conference League after topping their group.

Emery has his Villa side firmly challenging for a spot in the 2024/25 Champions League, with the club currently in the thick of a top-flight title race. However, Lenglet has found gametime hard to come by in the Premier League and may have hoped to have been a more prominent feature in the Villans’ successful campaign.

Lenglet potentially headed for an early Villa departure

In the preseason, Aston Villa appeared uninterested in signing Lenglet to a season-long loan given their options in the backline, which included Diego Carlos, Ezri Konsa, Tyrone Mings, and Pau Torres. But Mings’ potentially season-ending knee injury during the team’s 5-1 loss to Newcastle United on the first weekend of the Premier League changed the Villans’ transfer intentions.

Balancing continental and Premier League football ensured that Emery would need the insurance of another centre-back in his backline. On the morning of the 2023 summer transfer window’s Deadline Day, Villa confirmed the signing of Barcelona centre-back Lenglet on a season-long loan. The Frenchman spent the 2022/23 season on loan at Tottenham Hotspur but struggled to make an impact on Antonio Conte, Cristian Stellini, and then Ryan Mason’s side.

However, Lenglet has barely featured for the Villans during the 2023/24 campaign and has yet to make his Premier League debut for Emery’s side. The former France international’s appearances have been restricted to the Europa Conference League. With Villa on a break from continental football until March, Lenglet could find chances to impress thin on the ground.

According to Football Insider, Barcelona could terminate Lenglet’s loan at Villa Park. The Catalan giants would then look to sell the centre-back permanently, with AC Milan reportedly interested in his signature. In October, Sunday People chief sports writer Neil Moxley told GIVEMESPORT that he didn’t believe it was wise for Villa to sign Lenglet owing to his excessive wages, reportedly worth £150,000 per week.

Dean Jones transfer update on Clement Lenglet

Jones believes that Lenglet could still be a valuable option for Emery but hints that the Spanish head coach may be looking towards the longer term. The transfer insider wants to see how the Villa boss would react to the Barcelona man’s potential departure. Jones told GIVEMESPORT:

“One reason to believe it might happen is that it allows Emery to continue to grow his team. Lenglet might be more of a buffer for helping them reach the level they’ve reached and a security blanket, if you like, for if things had gone badly wrong in the defence. If they were in an emergency, he’d be a trusted head.

“I think he could still be helpful, but I also think Emery might be beginning to look towards the longer term now and thinking of players he might want to get in that could have more of an influence over how he can progress this team. It’d be interesting to see if a club like AC Milan was to come in with a firm offer to try and land Lenglet because I want to see how Emery reacts to news like that.”

Aston Villa transfer update on Douglas Luiz’s future

Emery will now be preparing for the opening of the 2024 winter transfer window on 1st January, hoping to bolster his squad to ensure they remain within contention to qualify for the 2024/25 Champions League.

According to Football Insider editor Wayne Veysey, speaking on The Inside Track podcast, Arsenal have prioritised the signing of Douglas Luiz in January and next summer, but a move is far from done. Meanwhile, the same outlet reports that Manchester City are interested in a deal to re-sign their former midfielder.

Midway through the season, Villa is anticipated to turn down any offers for Luiz because of their present standing in the top four of the Premier League. If Kalvin Phillips is sold in 2024, Manchester City will want to bolster their depth, while Arsenal hopes to bolster their defensive midfield ranks with some quality additions.

The Villans will look to extend their home league winning streak to 16 games when they play relegation-threatened Sheffield United at Villa Park on December 22. As Emery’s team wraps up a successful 2023, Villa then visits Manchester United on Boxing Day and Burnley visits the West Midlands on December 30.

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