Tottenham Hotspur have reportedly accepted a proposal from Napoli to sign Tanguy Ndombele on loan with an option to buy.
Spurs' record signing has struggled for consistency since making the £54m switch from Lyon in 2019, with none of Jose Mourinho, Nuno Espirito Santo or Antonio Conte placing their faith in him for the long-term.
Ndombele briefly returned to Lyon on loan during the second half of the 2021-22 season, during which he posted one goal and two assists in 15 games for his previous employers in all tournaments.
Les Gones possessed the option to re-sign the Frenchman on a permanent deal for the £54m they initially garnered for his 2019 sale, but the Ligue 1 club passed up on that opportunity.
Ndombele has since returned to Hotspur Way, but there is seemingly no way back for him under Conte, who has left him out of Spurs' Premier League squad for their opening fixtures with Southampton and Chelsea.
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The 25-year-old is also said to have been banished from first-team training as Spurs try to sort out his future, but finding a suitor willing to take him on permanently has proven to be a fruitless endeavour.
Instead, journalist Fabrizio Romano reports that Napoli are set to sign Ndombele on a season-long loan for 2022-23, and the Partenopei are now finalising personal terms with the midfielder.
Romano adds that Napoli will pay Tottenham €1m (£840k) to sign Ndombele on a temporary basis, and the Serie A club can trigger a permanent deal for €30m (£25.3m) next summer.
The former Amiens youngster remains under contract at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium until 2025, but he is behind the likes of Rodrigo Bentancur, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Oliver Skipp and Yves Bissouma in the pecking order.
Ndombele has registered a total of 10 goals and nine assists in 91 outings for Tottenham since arriving three years ago, but he has only started 46 Premier League games for the club in three years.
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Ndombele made the first XI on six occasions for Tottenham in the Premier League last season before returning to his homeland, and he will not be the only Lilywhites midfielder heading elsewhere.
Giovani Lo Celso has returned to La Liga outfit Villarreal on a season-long loan, while Harry Winks has also been frozen out of the Tottenham squad under Conte.
Numerous Premier League clubs have been linked with a move for Winks, but as things stand there are not thought to be any concrete offers on the table for the 26-year-old.
Tottenham have already welcomed six new faces to the club this summer and should conclude their incomings with the arrival of Udinese's Destiny Udogie, who underwent his medical on Monday.
Udogie will rejoin Udinese on loan for the remainder of the 2022-23 season before returning to complete for a place at Tottenham with Ivan Perisic and Ryan Sessegnon, as Sergio Reguilon is also widely expected to depart in the near future.
Ben Knapton
