Madrid, Aug 26 (IANS): Atletico Madrid and FC Barcelona have reached an agreement for the loan of Clement Lenglet, who will play for the club until the end of this season.

The 29-year-old French international centre-back is known for his good distribution and anticipation, and he brings a wealth of experience from clubs not only in his home country but also in the Premier League and La Liga.

Coming through the youth ranks of AS Nancy, Lenglet made his professional debut for their first team in 2013, helping them gain promotion to the French top flight in 2015/16.

He moved to Spanish football in January 2017 to sign with Sevilla, where he quickly established himself as a regular in the Andalusian side's defence.

After a season and a half, he moved on to FC Barcelona in the summer of 2018. During his time at the Catalan club, he has played 160 matches and scored seven goals, winning a La Liga title, a Copa del Rey, and a Spanish Super Cup.

He has spent the past two seasons on loan in the Premier League with Tottenham (22/23) and Aston Villa (23/24).

Having represented the France national team at every youth level, he made his senior debut in 2019 and won the Nations League with his country in 2021.

The centre-back successfully passed his medical examination at the Vithas - Invictum High-Performance Sports Medicine Centre at the Hospital Universitario Madrid Arturo Soria before signing his contract.

Lenglet is the second Barcelona player after Vitor Roque whose loan away from the club was confirmed on Monday. This clearout is likely being done to reduce Barcelona’s wage bill as the side is unable to register new signing Dani Olmo as a Barca player due to their excessive wage bill. This also led to Ilkay Gundogan’s departure from the club.