Abdou Diallo will be left out of Paris Saint-Germain’s pre-season trip to Japan after Tottenham Hotspur opted against bringing the £25 million defender to the Premier League, as reported by L’Equipe.
It speaks volumes about the excess and the over-indulgence of PSG – cracks appearing in football’s jewel-encrusted Faberge egg – that the Parc des Princes ‘bomb squad’ could probably hold their own against most teams in European football.
Mauro Icardi, Gini Wijndaldum, Ander Herrera, Julian Draxler, Layvin Kurzawa, Rafinha, Sergio Rico and Idrissa Gana Gueye will all be left at home as the rest of Christophe Galtier’s side jet out to Japan.
And the same goes for Diallo too.
The former Borussia Dortmund colossus started just one Ligue 1 game since the turn of the year under Mauricio Pochettino. And the arrival of former Lille and St Etienne coach Galtier in Pochettino’s place is no olive branch. Diallo remains something of a persona non grata in the French capital.
Tottenham turned down PSG’s Abdou Diallo
According to The Athletic, PSG recently offered Diallo to a Tottenham side who’s pursuit of a left-sided central defender threatened to turn into a saga before Clement Lenglet arrived on loan from Barcelona last week.
Tottenham had no interest in meeting PSG’s £25 million asking price for a Senegal international who started just 14 games in all competitions during 2021/22. Lenglet, in contrast, arrives for nothing.
“I want to be a good team-mate,” says the former Sevilla man. “To be a defender who can be aggressive and help the group win the ball. It’s a beautiful moment to work (with Antonio Conte) and learn all he knows about football.”
Lenglet should slot in alongside Eric Dier and Cristian Romero at the heart of Conte’s back three.
“When you speak to a player who plays in the Premier League, they say it is a beautiful league. You fight every week and it’s very hard to win,” the Frenchman adds.
“I want to play a lot of games and win to fight at the top of the table. It would be a dream to win a trophy with Tottenham.”
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