Diego Simeone keen to retain Barcelona loanee at Atletico Madrid next season | OneFootball

FC Barcelona ended the first-half of the La Liga campaign in quite an inauspicious fashion as they fell to a defeat to Atletico Madrid in the last game of the year 2024.

The Blaugranes were clearly the better side in that game, and the Colchoneros were able to get the better of them only because of Oblak’s heroics and their defensive strength.

This defensive strength has been a defining characteristic of Diego Simeone’s team for years now, and he is looking to enhance it even further in the coming summer transfer window.

For this purpose, Fichajes reports that one of the three main candidates he has in his sights is the Barcelona loanee, Clement Lenglet. The Frenchman is already playing under Simeone this season, and despite his declining abilities and constant movements in the last few years, has surprised with his reliable performances in the Rojiblanco team.

In total, he has played 9 La Liga matches this season with Atleti and another 3 in the UEFA Champions League. All of these appearances have been starts for the French defender.

Signing him will also be quite affordable for the Madrid team, as Barcelona will let the defender leave for a fee of around €15-20 million. Even with Lenglet away on loan, the Catalans have a surplus of defenders in their ranks and the Frenchman has virtually no chance of getting into Hansi Flick’s team.

Thus, it would be quite a good deal for all the involved sides if the operation develops further in the future. Atletico will continue to retain Lenglet, while Barcelona will get rid of his high wages, something they have been trying to do for several years now.

The defender himself, meanwhile, will continue to play at a side where he seems quite comfortable after having spent the last two years on loan in England.