Tanguy Ndombele's time at Tottenham has come to an end for now, with the club confirming his loan move to Napoli, on Friday. The French international struggled to get regular game time, when Antonio Conte first moved to N17.
This led the midfielder to making the return to Lyon, on loan, for the second half of the 2021/22 campaign. The 25-year-old made 11 Ligue 1 appearances, registering two assists, but didn't make the impression he would've liked.
Ndombele then returned to Hotspur Way this summer but has been part of the quartet (also involving Harry Winks, Sergio Reguilon and Giovani Lo Celso) who haven't been involved in Conte's plans and have been training aside from the first team. Lo Celso has now completed his loan move back to Villarreal and it seems that the 25-year-old will be on his way out too.
READ MORE: Why Tanguy Ndombele could possibly be set for swift Tottenham reunion despite Napoli loan move
The French international has been linked to various teams abroad, but Italy will now be his next destination. On Thursday, Ndombele was pictured arriving in Naples ahead of his medical at Napoli, with fans surrounding him for pictures.
The midfielder made almost 100 appearances for Tottenham and there is no denying his quality. However, it just hasn't quite worked out for Ndombele and it would be even harder for him to try and get regular game time now, with Conte's regimented structure implemented and the new arrivals in place.
The move is a season-long loan and Napoli will have an option to buy the player at the end of the season, believed to be for a fee of around £25million. Therefore Ndombele will have to hope he can impress enough to earn himself a permanent move, otherwise he could find himself in the same position next summer.
Salvatore Bagni made over 100 appearances for Napoli and has been full of praise for his former side's most likely new arrival. "Ndombele is a phenomenon," Bagni admitted, via HITC.
"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," he added.
As the former midfielder alludes to, there is quality in Ndombele and he has shown that, at times, at Spurs. However, his inconsistency and seeming lack of effort on multiple occasions, frustrated fans and led to a lot of criticism.
The Frenchman's reunion with Tottenham may come earlier than expected. The Champions League draw is next Thursday and if Spurs end up in the same group as Napoli, UEFA rules would allow Ndombele to compete in the matches.
The midfielder's exit is something that needed to happen for Tottenham, but also for the sake of his own career. Perhaps a permanent move would've been better for all parties but it does mean that Ndombele can have a fresh start and hopefully find some form again, whilst Spurs can get a player off their books, who wouldn't have been in Conte's plans this season.
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