AC Milan have taken out-of-favour Barcelona star Clement Lenglet under consideration as Stefano Pioli seeks defensive reinforcements.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, the Italians have contacted the Blaugrana to gather information about the French centre-back.
Lenglet spent last season on loan at Tottenham Hotspur, but Spurs are reluctant to go beyond the €5 million mark to sign him permanently.
Barcelona cannot wait to offload their misfit as Joan Laporta’s effort to bring the club back in compliance with Financial Fair Rules continues.
The former Sevilla man is no longer part of Xavi Hernandez’s plans at Spotify Camp Nou and could be the latest casualty to fall victim to Barca’s bid to raise funds from player sales.
However, the reigning La Liga champions are holding out for a €15m fee – a significant figure that has already put Tottenham off.
Milan manager Stefano Pioli needs a new central defender to plug the holes at the back, with the Rossoneri hoping to close the deal at €10m.
The Serie A giants will take extra few days to consider whether to accelerate their interest in the 28-year-old.
Despite landing eight new players this summer, including the impending arrival of Yunus Musah from Valencia, Milan are not done yet.
As evidenced by Milan’s pre-season tour in the United States, there’s ample room for improvement in defence.
In addition to losing all three matches against Barcelona, Juventus and Real Madrid, two out of three defeats saw Milan concede multiple goals.
Fikayo Tomori was perhaps the only defender to live up to the billing in the States, while Simon Kjaer, Malick Thiaw and Pierre Kalulu showed signs of vulnerability.
Given Lenglet’s difficult time at Barcelona and a rather unimpressive loan spell at Tottenham, it’s debatable whether he’d be a signing Milan need to address their defensive woes.
With the 2024 European Championship approaching, the player is keen to leave Catalunya to increase his chances of featuring for France next summer, and a move to Milan could come in handy.
