Tottenham's record transfer slammed by Di Canio
FT Desk
- 10 Sept 2022 14:48 BST
- 3 min read
Tanguy Ndombele once cost Tottenham Hotspur €72 million. Now he can't even get a game on loan at Napoli.
Ndombele became Tottenham's record signing when he joined from Lyon in the summer of 2019, but he was loaned back last season after failing to impress at White Hart Lane.
Testament to how far Ndombele's stock has fallen is that Lyon got the rest of the old band back together this season, re-signing Alexendre Lacazette and Corentin Tolisso from Arsenal and Bayern Munich respectively. But they didn't exercise the clause to make Ndombele's deal permanent.
OFFICIAL: Tanguy Ndombele has left Tottenham on loan ✅ pic.twitter.com/fANWxzH7jN
— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) August 19, 2022
The 25-year-old Frenchman - who has five caps for his country - agreed a similar move to Napoli this summer, the Serie A side taking him on loan for the season with an option to make his transfer permanent for €30m at the end of the campaign.
But Ndombele doesn't seem to have the trust of Napoli coach Luciano Spalletti, watching the entirety of their most recent game - an impressive 4-1 win over Liverpool in the Champions League - from the bench.
Walking on water is one thing…
"I'll just say if Spalletti performs a miracle with Ndombele, I'll take my hat off to him and give him my compliments," Di Canio - who scored 66 Premier League goals with Sheffield Wednesday, West Ham and Charlton - told Italian daily Il Mattino recently.
"This lad's really not accustomed to sacrificing himself for the team with work when he's off the ball. He is not a creative midfielder, at most he can play in a three-man midfield and cut inside behind the striker.
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"I don't expect Spalletti to get Ndombele to walk on water, but if he at least manages to get him swimming, it'd be an extraordinary success."
Ndombele has only played 58 of a possible 450 Serie A minutes so far this season, and where he goes from here remains to be seen. At 25, he should have the best of his career ahead of him, and someone might be willing to take a gamble on him when he becomes available on a free in 2013.
