Levy ends Tottenham window with big win, as star agrees exit deal with pivotal transfer clause

Tanguy Ndombele will move back to Lyon until the end of the season after Tottenham agreed on a deal for the midfielder’s exit.

Spurs have had an underwhelming January transfer window as regards new signings. While they are closing in on adding Juventus pair Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur, outings will prove crucial too.

Indeed, Ndombele, Dele Alli, Bryan Gil and Giovani Lo Celso could all find new homes before Monday evening’s cut-off.

French midfielder Ndombele is one player about whom exit talk has ramped up in recent days. Paris Saint-Germain looked to be the prime suitors for him and reports on Friday claimed that they were in advanced negotiations with Spurs.

However, that avenue dried up as PSG encountered struggles trying to offload one of their own.

As such, Ndombele’s former club Lyon emerged as the frontrunners to re-sign the player they sold to Tottenham in the summer of 2019.

And Lyon have now agreed a deal for the midfielder, announcing the deal on their Twitter account. Ndombele will therefore move back to his native France until the end of the season.

Lyon will have an option to buy Ndombele for €65million (£54million). And that is just £1million short of the sum Spurs paid to make the player their club-record signing in 2019.

Ndombele set for Lyon return as Tottenham accept loan move

Tottenham have accepted a loan move for Tanguy Ndombele as French midfielder is already in France ahead of deal

As such, they would not be making too much of a loss if Lyon decide to trigger that clause.

Ndombele will be hoping that the move back to familiar territory will help him rediscover his best form. The midfielder has stolen the headlines at Spurs on occasion, but mostly for the wrong reasons.

Indeed, he has failed to gel with the club’s past three managers – Jose Mourinho, Nuno Espirito Santo and now Antonio Conte.

Ndombele’s move away will facilitate the arrival of Bentancur.

Ndombele out, Bentancur in at Tottenham

Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano has claimed that Spurs director of football Fabio Paratici  has struck on an agreement with his former club to bring the Uruguayan to north London.

Spurs will pay an initial £15.8m (€19m) with a further £4.9m (€6m) in bonuses, taking the deal to £20.7m.

He could sign a three-and-a-half-year deal through to the summer of 2025.

Juventus, meanwhile, are looking at signing Borussia Monchengladbach’s Denis Zakaria as Bentancur’s replacement.