Lenglet winning over the doubters to repay Tottenham's faith in the Frenchman
"He did play well. Probably his best performance in a Spurs shirt, for me," raved former Tottenham player and manager Glenn Hoddle after their 0-0 Champions League draw with Eintracht Frankfurt on Tuesday. When it became clear the north London side were pursuing their interest in Clement Lenglet, it felt a bit of a let down. Alessandro Bastoni and Josko Gvardiol were the big-name targets for that left centre-back role, but the former's reluctance to leave Inter the summer and RB Leipzig's desire to retain the latter's services meant Spurs' hand was forced.
The north London side did make an approach for Lenglet last summer, only to be rebuffed in their efforts to land the Frenchman. The centre-back has a fan in Fabio Paratici and while Lenglet may not have been the big money arrival in the form of Bastoni or Gvardiol, he was a Champions League experienced defender on the market to plug a gap in a three-man backline, even if temporarily.
Lenglet joined on a season-long loan in July with an option to buy for a rumoured fee of around €6m. While earlier this year, it was an option Spurs would unlikely trigger, but fast forward to the present day, and some may feel the club would be foolish to turn down the chance to make Lenglet's move permament.
Initially, Lenglet may not have been seen as 'Mr Right', yet the France international has slotted in seamlessly on the left side of Tottenham's back three. Usurping Ben Davies, a player Antonio Conte called upon heavily when he took over last November, was going to be no easy feat given the solidity and consistency the Wales international brought to the side when the team did move to a three-man defence.
Yet Lenglet has come into the XI and it would take a huge dip in form or injury to see him sacrifice his spot in defence. Given his sub-par showings for Barcelona in recent seasons, and subsuquent dip in confidence, to have rebuilt his reputation in such a short space of time warrants praise for both player and manager. Conte has made a habit of rebuilding players at their lowest ebb, with Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski both establishing themselves as key men under the Italian.
Lenglet is no different and after his best rated showing in a Spurs shirt - the summer arrival earned a WhoScored rating of 7.56 against Eintracht Frankfurt in midweek, so Hoddle's words are justified - Paratici will feel vindicated in his decision to push to sign the Frenchman, even if he was low on the wishlist. As a left footed centre-back, he has brought that balance to the defence that is crucial for a three-man backline to succeed.
A pass success rate of 87.5% is the fourth best of all Spurs players in the Premier League this season, but crucially is that Lenglet is a primary instigator of attacks from defence. Indeed, a higher proportion of his passes go forward (45.6%) than any other Spurs player, a return that ranks 30th in the Premier League this season, exlcuding goalkeepers. Considering Conte's side have developed a statistically calculated WhoScored strength of 'attacking down the wings', Lenglet's influence from defence has a positive impact on the way Spurs get forward.
Lenglet may not play the long raking balls from defence in the same vein as Toby Alderweireld in his pomp at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, noted in that he does average just 1.3 accurate long balls per game, that actually fewer than striker Harry Kane (2.8), but rather the patient approach and willingness to get the ball to the left wing-back, notably fellow summer signing Ivan Perisic, helps Spurs dominate opponents from out wide.
That's not to say that Lenglet is the perfect left centre-back for Spurs, and it's feasible to suggest that Bastoni and Gvardiol will be upgrades on the on-loan defender, should Conte's side succeed in luring one of the latter pair to the capital next summer. There are discipline issues that have landed him in hot water with officials on more than one occasion this season, noted in that Lenglet has made just nine tackles, all the while conceding seven fouls.
On the whole, though, Lenglet has impressed Spurs fans and very much exceeded expectations. Many may have felt Davies would keep his spot in the XI and that Lenglet would be used primarily as cover and competition for the Welshman, yet the latter has slotted into the Spurs side seamlessly, with the defence no weaker for his inclusion. Considering the derision surrounding his capture, Lenglet has quickly won over his doubters and to repay the faith shown in him by the north London outfit.
