Tottenham backed to complete Napoli transfer for fee that will leave Daniel Levy steaming
A transfer between Napoli and Tottenham is expected, though not for the type of sum Spurs had originally envisioned, per a report.
Who’ll be in the Tottenham dugout when the international break concludes remains to be seen. Antonio Conte’s position is seemingly hanging by a thread and if the Italian is ousted, the Spurs squad could be set for major change this summer.
One player who’s likely to follow Conte out of north London is Ivan Perisic.
A change of formation by any new manager to a back four would leave the veteran Croatian without a role in the team. Fabrizio Romano recently confirmed an explosive 20-year-old will take his place next season.
Elsewhere, speculation continues to swirl over the future of Harry Kane. He, along with Napoli’s Victor Osimhen, are the two primary striker targets on Man Utd’s radar.
In any case, today’s update regards Spurs and Napoli directly, with the future of midfield misfit Tanguy Ndombele at stake.
Ndombele was a £55.45m signing from Lyon back in 2019, though a succession of Tottenham managers have been unable to harness his maverick talents.
The 26-year-old was subsequently loaned out to Napoli for the current campaign where despite struggling for starts, he’s made a big impression on manager Luciano Spalletti.
The loan deal contained an option to buy worth either €28m or €30m depending on whose report you read. That equates to roughly £24.6m-£26.4m.
Spurs inserted the clause in the hope Ndombele would impress enough to earn a permanent move. The Frenchman may well wind up in Naples outright, though not for the sum Tottenham had in mind.
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Levy must reduce Tottenham demands
Il Mattino recently reported Napoli are interested in signing Ndombele to a permanent deal, though for less than the buy option.
A fresh update from Italy on Friday has doubled down on the claims Napoli want Ndombele back next season. However, it was reiterated Spurs and Daniel Levy will have to reduce their demands if they’re to see the back of Ndombele once and for all.
Speaking on Naples radio station Radio Kiss Kiss, journalist Paolo Del Genio revealed (via TuttoNapoli): “Ndombélé? He seems to me to be growing, and not because he scored.
“You could always see his potential but he couldn’t make his plays come true, but now he seems to me more involved in the action and becomes decisive.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if Napoli tried to redeem him for a different figure than the €30m agreed with Tottenham.”
Ndombele recently scored his first goal for Napoli in the 4-0 thumping of Torino last weekend. Spalletti has also promised to increase the midfielder’s minutes in the latter stages of the campaign.
That’ll give Ndombele more of a chance to shine and thus convince Napoli signing him outright is a worthy cause.
With a new manager poised to lead Spurs into the summer, Tottenham will be hoping they can recoup as much as they can for a player who seemingly has no future in north London.
The sum they generate – even if it is lower than the pre-agreed buy option – should go towards signings for the new boss.
