Clement Lenglet is having the best time of his life in the heart of Barcelona’s defence thanks to Thomas Vermaelen’s inability to nail down a starting bet, Umtiti’s absence due to an injury and Javier Macherano’s departure from the Camp Nou.
After spending every season doing very well in the attack but horrible in the defence, Barca was always going to spend whatever it took – both time and money – to get what they want.
For a club that hve spent decades building one successful La Masia graduating class after another, realizing the importance of patience in searching till they get what they want seemed like a trait ingrained in the club.
For the many non-good wills the Bosman culture must have introduced into the club-player power dynamic, the release-clause remains one of the finest effects of it. The Catalan club will keep being thankful for it since activating Lenglet’s 35 million euros release-clause was the easiest any club could get a defender.
Japanese club Vissel Kobe have signed Thomas Vermaelean though. The deal took place on a free transfer basis. As that couldn’t still give Lenglet the straightforward route to the first eleven, Samuel Umtiti’s injury has however sealed it for him.
As every coach gravitates towards the best, while making sure to forget quoting that they are doing what is best for the team, French national team head coach Didier Deschamps has called up Clement Lenglet and the former Sevilla man looks set to replacing Umtiti not just in Spain but France.
Samuel Umtiti is waiting on the sidelines waiting for Lenglet’s luck to dim a little bit to allow him to remind the club how good he is but Lenglet’s solid performances since becoming a regular is reducing the odds of that happening any time soon.
