Tottenham are reportedly terminating the contract of a midfielder who still has more than two years left on his current contract.
There are expected to be plenty of adjustments at Spurs this summer, with some other new manager set to come in, which will almost lead to further adjustments in the first team.
Defensive and midfield additions are highly anticipated, while a new goalkeeper may also arrive to update long-time Hugo Lloris.
However, Tottenham’s engine room has been heavily criticised for its lack of creativity since Rodrigo Bentancur was out for the rest of the season in February.
The club, however, allowed Tanguy Ndombele and Giovani Lo Celso to go on loan to Napoli and Villarreal respectively last summer, the duo imagined through Antonio Conte at the time.
And while the latter had a productive season in Spain, Ndombele struggled to identify himself at Napoli.
It was the idea that long-time Serie A champions Napoli would not settle for the midfielder’s €30 million acquisition option. And now the reports from Italy have added to what the long term holds for the French international.
Sport Mediaset says Napoli president Aurelio de Laurentiis does not need to pay as much for a player who has not been a normal starter for his team.
The report even adds that Spurs “would like to get rid of” Ndombele this summer and are even terminating his contract, with a severance package.
That would open the door for clubs to sign him for free, with Juventus and Roma being enthusiastic about this scenario.
Ndombele’s current contract with Tottenham runs until 2025. To that end, it may only take some negotiations for the player to settle for their contract to be broken.
But the fact that it’s never in their plans and Napoli refuses to shell out their purchase option, Spurs would likely have very few options yet to switch off.
The only other way forward for Ndombele and the club would be loaned. However, it is believed that if Julian Nagelsmann takes over north London, the German will need a full blank slate to build a team with his own vision and all the laggards will be offloaded forever.
Tottenham return to action on Saturday when they host Crystal Palace in the Premier League, to resume their path to victory after their demoralising 4-3 defeat to Liverpool this weekend.
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