Tottenham are still hopeful of offloading Tanguy Ndombele to Turkey this month, but Hugo Lloris is set to remain at the club until at least January after turning down a host of offers over the summer.
The Turkish transfer window remains open until September 15, while clubs in the Saudi Pro League have until Thursday to add to their squads, raising hope at Spurs that Ndombele could still move on, despite the window for leading European leagues closing last Friday night.
Ndombele was reportedly reluctant to move to Turkey earlier in the window, amid interest from Galatasaray and Fenerbahce, but the former have since booked their place in the Champions League group stage, which could prompt a rethink from the midfielder if the Super Lig champions renew their interest.
Lloris, meanwhile, is poised to stay put until at least the winter window. The former France captain is understood to have rejected more than one lucrative offer from Saudi, while he also turned down a deadline-day approach from his former club Nice and interest from Newcastle and last season’s Serie A runners-up Lazio.
“An hour before the end of the window, I received a call from an agent who evoked the possibility of joining Nice. Playing prospects and the sporting project, the real motors behind a player’s decision, much more so than financial conditions, weren’t clearly broached,” Lloris told French newspaper Nice-Matin, explaining his decision to reject his boyhood club.
“The supporters and the team deserve better than a split-second decision based on a phone call without expectations or a clear sporting project with one hour until the closure of the window at a time when I wasn’t expecting it.”
The 36-year-old former club skipper’s reluctance to accept any offer to leave Spurs, despite being told he will not be part of Ange Postecoglou’s 25-man Premier League squad, has left decision-makers at the club surprised and unsure of Lloris’s intentions.
There was some speculation that Spurs could cancel the final year of his contract during the window but he would now be unable to join a European team as a free agent until the transfer window reopens in January.
