Tottenham could reportedly be forced to accept a loan fee of less than £1million from Napoli for the services of Tanguy Ndombele and may even end up making a £30million loss on the player. Ndombele has been deemed surplus to requirements by Antonio Conte and is seemingly on his way out of north London on a temporary basis in order to join Napoli until the end of the season.
The Frenchman was left out of the Tottenham squad that travelled to South Korea for the club’s pre-season tour and has not played a single minute in the Premier League since the beginning of the new campaign. Napoli are now said to be in advanced talks with Tottenham over a loan-to-buy deal for the midfielder but are offering just £840,000 in exchange for the move, according to transfer expert Paolo Bargiggia.
It is said that Napoli are keen on wrapping up Ndombele’s signature until the end of the season but are yet to match Tottenham’s demands over a loan fee despite weeks of discussions. The Serie A heavyweights have been asked to double their proposed sum in order to accelerate the move but have chosen not to increase their offer as things stand.
Tottenham are also thought to have negotiated the inclusion of an option for Napoli to buy Ndombele for at least £25m, a figure that would see them make a huge loss on the £55m fee that was initially paid to Lyon for the midfielder back in the summer of 2019, but the Italian outfit are not planning to exercise the clause at the end of the season. It seems as though an agreement will eventually be reached between Tottenham and Napoli in the coming days, though, with Bargiggia ‘optimistic’ that Ndombele will make the switch before next month’s all-important transfer deadline.
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Ndombele has never really clicked at Tottenham in spite of his club-record price tag, with the 25-year-old having been tossed aside by three different managers over the course of his time in England. He struggled to impress under the guidance of Jose Mourinho before facing criticism after an extended run in the team during Nuno Espirito Santo’s brief spell in charge of the club.
Conte was the next manager to fail in his efforts to help Ndombele find his feet and has since given up on the midfielder, who has registered just seven appearances in all competitions since the Italian coach’s arrival in November of last year. The Tottenham boss previously urged Ndombele to improve his work rate in order to stand any chance of working his way back into the first-team picture, but it seems as though his race is already run.
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“I have seen many managers struggle with his position,” Conte told reporters shortly after his appointment at Tottenham.
“He has the quality [but] he has to understand it is a team and he has to play into the team. It is important to do what the position asks you to do. We are working very hard, he has to work much more than the others.
“He has talent but he has to put it into the team for the team, not for the single player. Every single player has to know what he has to do. If every player just runs around the pitch, it will be a mess.”
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