Aston Villa have confirmed the signing of centre-back Clement Lenglet from Barcelona on loan for the remainder of the season.
Lenglet spent last year with Tottenham Hotspur, who declined their option to make the move permanent but explored a discounted deal for the French defender before turning their attention to Micky van de Ven.
That gave Villa the chance to join the race for his signature and a deal has now been struck to take Lenglet back to the Premier League for the next 12 months.
Barcelona confirmed that the loan deal does not include the option to make the move permanent.
Having registered Lenglet in their La Liga squad just days ago, Barcelona will have freed up some salary space which can be used on future signings, with Manchester City's Joao Cancelo and Atletico Madrid's Joao Felix their top targets.
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Lenglet managed 26 appearances in the Premier League for Spurs last season and now has the chance to add to that tally with Villa, who have already lost centre-back Tyrone Mings to a nasty knee injury.
He becomes the second centre-back signing for Unai Emery's side, who splashed out on Spain international Pau Torres from Villarreal earlier this summer.
Alongside Torres and Lenglet, Villa have also recruited Moussa Diaby, Nicolo Zaniolo and Youri Tielemans.
Barcelona had hoped to sell Lenglet permanently but are currently working on reducing their salary for the coming season, with Ansu Fati's imminent move to Brighton & Hove Albion also set to free up a significant sum.
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This article was originally published on 90min as Aston Villa sign Clement Lenglet on loan from Barcelona.
