Jose Mourinho is looking to hand Clement Lenglet a route out of Barcelona, with Roma opening talks over a deal for the defender.
The France international has been deemed surplus to requirements at Camp Nou as Barça look to raise funds and slash their wage bill in order to re-sign Lionel Messi.
Sport report that Roma have opened negotiations with the Blaugrana regarding Lenglet, and are willing to offer €15m for the centre-back. However, Barcelona are holding out for a fee of around €25m, and a move to Roma is not high on Lenglet's priorities right now.
He would ideally like to stay at Barça, but if he were forced out by the club, he would rather move to the Premier League. West Ham and Everton have been credited with an interest, while Arsenal and Tottenham have been linked with a move recently too.
Barcelona are believed to have asked for Lorenzo Pellegrini in a part-exchange deal with Roma, though the Serie A club are not keen on using the midfielder as a makeweight.
While Lenglet is being nudged towards the exit door, fellow defenders Sergino Dest and Samuel Umtiti have also been linked with moves away from Camp Nou this summer. USA international Dest is attracting interest from Bayern Munich - who were beaten to his signing last summer by Barça - while Umtiti has suitors in England.
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— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) July 24, 2021
90min revealed recently that the proposed swap deal with Atletico Madrid which would have seen Antoine Griezmann return to the Spanish capital and Saul Niguez head to Catalonia has fallen through. However, a move to the Premier League is on the table and Barcelona are hoping an English club comes in for the France forward.
Barcelona's season gets underway on August 15 against Real Sociedad, and they'll be desperate to have done enough in order to bring Messi back to the club.
This article was originally published on 90min as Roma open talks with Barcelona for Clement Lenglet.
Source: www.90min.com