Hansi Flick putting pressure on Barcelona star to leave club amid interest from Atletico Madrid: Reports
Barcelona manager Hansi Flick, along with the club's hierarchy, are reportedly putting pressure on Clement Lenglet to leave this summer. The defender is not in their plans and his departure would help them register new players.
Lenglet joined the Blaugrana from Sevilla in 2018. He spent four years at the club but failed to make an impact and was sent on a season-long loan at Tottenham Hotspur. He then went on loan at Aston Villa last season and made just 25 appearances across competitions.
As per El Nacional, Lenglet isn't in Hansi Flick's plans and he is putting pressure on the defender soon. This is because the defender's departure will ease the wage bill, allowing Barcelona to register some players. Academy graduate Pau Victor and new signing Dani Olmo haven't been registered yet.
Barca are set to face Valencia in their 2024-25 La Liga opener on Saturday, August 17. They hope to get Lenglet off the books and register Victor and Olmo so they can make their debut at the Mestalla Stadium.
Villarreal and Atletico Madrid are interested in signing Lenglet on loan this summer and the Frenchman would be open to either side. It's not up to Barcelona to reach an agreement as they would want the destination club to cover a majority of the Frenchman's wages. Sporting director Deco is in conversation with both clubs.
Hansi Flick's assessment of Barcelona's defeat against Monaco
Barcelona lost 3-0 against AS Monaco at home in the Joan Gamper Trophy on Sunday, August 11. Lamine Camara (50'), Breel Embolo (57'), and Christian Mawissa (86') scored for the visitors. After the game, manager Hansi Flick explained what went wrong for his side, saying (via Barca Blaugranes):
“In the first minutes we were good and we had chances to score the first, today the speed and passing were not as good as in previous games, we did not have the confidence we had other days, Monaco improved, we tried to change things in the second half but individual errors did not allow us to win.
“I know how the team is capable of playing, we saw it in America, today was not a good game against a good opponent, but in Valencia we will play differently and I am sure we will play another game.”
Barcelona came into the game on the back of a pre-season tour of the US. They beat Manchester City on penalties and Real Madrid 2-1 before losing on penalties against AC Milan.