Recent developments might force Tottenham’s hand in centre-back pursuit

While nobody within the club will admit to it, Tottenham’s search for a first-choice centre-back will soon reek of desperation, if it doesn’t already. 

The season kicks off in 16 days, and Spurs are no closer to reinforcing its rearguard.

The debacle in the making might just force Tottenham to crawl back to Barcelona like Beyonce did with Jay-Z after he doing the dirty on Queen Bey (pronounced Bee, from what I understand).

Please don’t ask how I know that reference.

If sportsbooks offered betting options on Tottenham signing Clement Lenglet, the odds would have shortened drastically in the wake of the club hitting a dead end on its three primary centre-back candidates.

But one thing is now as clear as Bayern Munich’s deplorable ethics: Barcelona has the upper hand.

Tottenham initially didn’t want to spend more than €6 million on Lenglet.

The Catalan side, appearing as Blackburn in disguise (at least financially speaking), has demanded €15 million. Hence the recent full stop in discussions between the two clubs.

Well, guess what. As the dust settles, and with just over two weeks before Spurs play Brentford in the season opener, €15 million for a central defender who offers stability and reassurance seems like a drop in the ocean.

The last news we heard from either side on this prospective deal was just over three weeks ago when Joan Barcelona president Laporta said, “I think that we will reach an agreement for Lenglet with Tottenham.”

He might be correct after all.

While Spurs haven’t publicly pressed the panic button, entering the new campaign without any central defensive reinforcements would be an unmitigated disaster, one that would ultimately sabotage the very purpose of Ange ball.

So let’s see if Daniel Levy is willing to ask his boss Joe Lewis, who supposedly isn’t his boss anymore (not that I believe that), to hand over the chump change it will cost to land Lenglet, whose performances last season were arguably the most consistent of our central defensive contingent.

I’m just hoping Barcelona doesn’t jack up the price even more, a distinct possibility given Spurs’ precarious position, for that would almost certainly scupper any potential deal.