Tanguy Ndombele labelled ‘a phenomenon’ as Tottenham man seals loan switch to Napoli

Tanguy Ndombele has left Tottenham on a season-long loan deal to Napoli, with no obligation to make the move permanent.

Spurs confirmed the temporary deal with a short statement on their website and they also stated that Napoli hold an “option” for the Serie A club to make the move permanent.

That price is understood to be set at around £25m, according to football.london. Considerably less than the £63m – a club record – that Mauricio Pochettino paid for him in July 2019.

Ndombele was seen in Italy on Thursday as the finer points were ironed out on his move.

There’s no doubt that Ndombele has talent, but he has failed to deliver the consistency of performances needed in the Premier League.

Ndombele made 91 appearances in all competitions for Tottenham, scoring 10 goals, but fell out of favour last season under Antonio Conte.

He was offloaded to Lyon on loan in January, where he played 15 times, scoring once.

A club statement from Napoli read: “Napoli announces that it has acquired the sporting performances of Tanguy Ndombele from Tottenham Hotspur on a temporary basis with the right of redemption (a permanent transfer).”

Ndombele labelled a ‘phenomenon’ 

Former Napoli player Salvatore Bagni believes the signing of Ndombele could be pivotal for the Naples club.

“Ndombele is a phenomenon,” Bagni told Il Mattino.

“A top player will return to Naples. He is a very modern midfielder, in the sense that in addition to being technical and also physical. I started following him when he was in France, then he got a bit lost at Tottenham.

“But it can happen. At Napoli, he can return to very high levels because he has everything to be a great midfielder. He was what impressed me at the time of Lyon. And I’m sure he can still be that type of player.”

Ndombele could be back at Spurs sooner than expected though. The Champions League draw is next Thursday.

Both clubs are in different pots and if Spurs are in the same group as Napoli he would, under UEFA rules, be able to play against the club.