(Football news) Tottenham are set to sell Tanguy Ndombele to Napoli, three years after they made him their record-signing. Ndombele moved to White Hart Lane from Lyon in 2019 for £54million and got off to the perfect start in North London when he scored on his debut in a 3-1 win over Aston Villa. It was all downhill from there on however the French midfielder struggled to adjust to the Premier League and was publicly criticised by then-manager Jose Mourinho for his poor form and unprofessionalism.
Although he worked his way back into the first-team contention but still continued to struggle with fitness and injuries, with Antonio Conte loaning him back to Lyon on loan for the second half of last season.The Ligue 1 club had the option of buying him back this summer but they declined the offer. Conte made it clear that the 25-year-old was not part of his plans as he was one of four players left out of Tottenham’s pre-season tour alongside Giovani Lo Celso, Sergio Reguilon and Harry Winks. Ndombele was free to leave this summer and he has now found his new home in Naples, according to Fabrizio Romano, Napoli will pay €1m fee to take him on loan while covering a large part of his salary, with a €30m (£25m) buy back option included.
Tottenham will have lost around £26m on the player that they had so much high hopes for. In all, Ndombele made 91 appearances for Spurs scoring 10 goals and providing nine assists and was an integral player in the club’s run to the Carabao Cup final in 2021. Napoli on the other hand have reached a breakthrough in the negotiations with Sassuolo for Giacomo Raspadori. The two clubs had been in discussion for the striker as both the clubs have agreed on a fee at €30m plus €5m in various bonuses, and the delay in the deal was because of the discussion they had around the format of the add-ons.
That has been sorted out as they will spread out a loan fee of €5m with an obligation to buy for another €25m next season. Sassuolo have agreed to lower their demands on the add-ons, they will not ask for payment if Napoli qualify for the Europa League, only the Champions League. That bonus is apparently going to rise from €500,000 to €1m for every season over the next five years that they qualify for the UCL. Another €2m in bonuses are related to how many goals and assists Raspadori contributes in the Napoli jersey. Sassuolo had set a deadline to finalise the transfer or keep hold of their Italy international, but they are on track to strike a deal for the 22-year-old.
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