Spurs 'hours away' from signing Conte has been urged to stay away from

By Dylan Walsh

Tottenham are reportedly set to announce the signing of FC Barcelona defender Clement Lenglet in the coming hours, with Spurs reaching an agreement for the centre-back last week.

According to Sport, an official announcement from Spurs on the signing of Lenglet is ‘hours away’, with Tottenham set to confirm the Frenchman’s arrival in a transfer worth a reported €10m (£8m) in what will be Antonio Conte’s fifth new addition of the summer.

Barcelona have been trying to offload Lenglet for the good part of two summers, with the Catalan side now finally finding a buyer in the centre-back in Tottenham. And as you can expect, some pundits are questioning why Spurs have moved to sign the La Liga defender.

ESPN pundit Alejandro Moreno urged Tottenham to stay away from Lenglet, with the former Venezuelan footballer claiming that Lenglet has regressed over the years and his current qualities mean that he will be exploited in the Premier League.

Moreno said: “In terms of Lenglet, honestly, if I am Spurs, then I stay away. Lenglet has been a player, instead of seeing progression, we have seen regression. We have seen a guy that’s gone backwards. Talking about going backwards, speed is not his strength. I don’t like this match-up at all of Lenglet being exposed in the Premier League, with strikers that have speed to get around and into the channel.”

Indeed, Tottenham are taking a huge risk in signing Lenglet given how important a centre-back is for the north London side, and for Conte, the Italian is sticking his neck out on the line with his latest addition to the Premier League club.

Lenglet is Tottenham’s riskiest signing this summer by a mile

There’s a good reason why Barcelona have been spending the good part of two years trying to sell Lenglet, and for Tottenham and Conte, Spurs are taking a huge risk in signing the former France international, who has often been regarded as one of the most inconsistent defender’s in La Liga.

With the Tottenham defence needing a quality new addition, Lenglet won’t inspire many fans that their backline has improved, and for Conte, it will be his head on the line if the centre-back fails to impress in England next season.