Heading into the January transfer window, there has been a lot of chatter surrounding the future of Barcelona loanee Clement Lenglet at Aston Villa.
The Frenchman signed for the Premier League high-flyers during the summer transfer window on a season-long loan deal but has hardly played so far this season.
Indeed, the Barcelona loanee has been limited to featuring in the UEFA Europa Conference League only, with Villa manager Unai Emery hardly calling on him in the Premier League.
As such, Lenglet and Barcelona were contemplating the possibility of terminating the loan deal in January so that the Frenchman could join a different team for the second half of the season.
In fact, AC Milan have shown a strong interest in signing Lenglet in January in a potential loan deal with a buy option.
Emery rules out Lenglet exit
Even though Aston Villa have been reluctant to consider such a possibility, recent reports suggested that they would sit down and negotiate with Barcelona to discuss Lenglet’s situation.
However, Villa manager Unai Emery has definitively ruled out terminating the French international’s loan deal in January, stating that he still counts on the Barcelona loanee for the second half of the season.
“I want to keep Lenglet at Villa in the second part of the season,” said Emery, as quoted by SPORT.
“Tomorrow (Friday, against Sheffield United) he will play. I’m really looking forward to seeing him, I’m really convinced he can help us.”
“We need all the players we have for the challenges we are going to face this season,” Emery added.
With that, any chances of Lenglet being recalled and loaned out to Milan in January seem to be over. The deal with the Italians might have proven more beneficial for both the player and Barcelona, but as things stand, such a move looks unlikely.
The post Aston Villa boss rules out Barcelona loanee’s return in January: “He can help us” appeared first on Barca Universal.
