Clement Lenglet in action for Tottenham
Tottenham Hotspur centre-back Clement Lenglet has now been the subject of criticism from club expert John Wenham.
The Lowdown: Lenglet’s Tottenham career
Lenglet arrived at Tottenham on a season-long loan deal in the summer, and he has so far made 16 appearances in all competitions, but much like the rest of the defence, he has failed to impress.
In the ten Premier League games that the Frenchman has played in, Spurs are yet to keep a clean sheet, and Antonio Conte now appears to be targeting a new option at centre-back, as detailed by transfer insider Dean Jones.
The Latest: Wenham reacts
Speaking to Football Insider after the 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa, Wenham lambasted the defender, claiming he is no better than a player that he came in to replace:
“Again I looked at Clement Lenglet yesterday over the course of 90 minutes and I will not be told he is better than Ben Davies.
“He is exactly the same level and I have been saying this since we first got him. There is absolutely no difference in quality between the two of them.
“With one player on loan and one player not, with one player counting as homegrown and the other not, there is an easy decision to make at the end of the season and that is to get rid of Lenglet.
“It looks like we are paying the price for getting the cheap option and not pushing the boat out to sign a Bastoni or Gvardiol.
The Verdict: Get rid?
With an average SofaScore rating of just 6.75, the 27-year-old ranks lower than both Ben Davies and Eric Dier in terms of average performance in the Premier League this season, despite the latter not having the best of seasons himself, as the only outfield Spurs player to make an error leading to a goal.
The Barcelona loanee is not solely to blame – there are blatant deficiencies with the defence, as Conte’s side have now conceded the first goal in a match for ten games in a row in all competitions.
However, Tottenham must be prepared to spend big if they want to stand any chance of pushing for the top four this season, and a new defender at the level of Cristian Romero must be the priority for Conte in January, with the Argentinian averaging more tackles and interceptions than Lenglet in the Premier League.
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