Inter Milan inquire about availability of Ndombele

We haven’t even gotten to our traditional “buy/sell/loan” articles for Tottenham Hotspur this off-season and we’re already seeing major transfer rumors for the club. Obviously, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg is front and center on the purchase side. We know about Troy Parrott heading out on loan to Millwall as well. Now we can add Tanguy Ndombele to the selling portion of rumors.

According to The Guardian via Ed Aarons and Fabrizio Romano, Inter Milan have opened up talks with Tottenham Hotspur regarding the availability of midfielder Tanguy Ndombele.

The France midfielder has endured a difficult first season in the Premier League since joining from Lyon in July 2019 and signing a six-year deal with Spurs, having started just 12 Premier League games. But despite José Mourinho stating he was confident the 23-year-old “can turn it around” at the start of July, Inter have entered negotiations with Tottenham that could see Ndombele join Antonio Conte’s side if an agreement can be reached.

Spurs have indicated that they would accept €50m (£45m) for Ndombele – a figure that would represent a significant loss on the fee they paid last summer – although Inter are not believed to be willing to go that high. There is also a possibility of a swap deal potentially involving Slovakian defender Milan Skriniar, who Mourinho views as a replacement for Jan Vertonghen after the Belgium defender left Spurs at the end of his contract.

That’s the meat and potatoes of the article. Romano, who is well in tune with Serie A, states that Inter are big fans of the French International. With the relationship between Jose Mourinho and Ndombele seemingly dead in the water, Inter are looking to pounce and improve their lineup. Romano also says that the two clubs have a very good relationship after the deal for Christian Eriksen back in January.

Breaking this down a bit, the rumored transfer fee might send Spurs supporters into a whirlwind. This would be about a ten million hit to the club for a player who still has five years remaining on his contract, so Levy does hold all the power in any negotiation. It’s also understandable that the COVID-19 pandemic has hurt Spurs financially and most transfers will have to be funded with sales. There are rumors that the club have about £40m in the bank, but I can’t stress it enough that this has not been confirmed by anyone reputable, whether they work with the club or cover the club on a regular basis.

Let’s assume that this is true, though. £45m in a transfer window where we have no idea what’s going to happen with fees might be deemed necessary by the club. If that’s the case, Levy is going to do his best to get as close to that £54m fee he paid last year, but it’s doubtful he gets there. With the Hojbjerg deal still on the horizon, Spurs are already busy and there should be more targets down the road. I think if Levy gets Inter to agree to £45m plus some add-ons, he may the trigger and send Ndombele on his way.

There’s no pulling punches on this one, though: It hurts. It’s an absolute mess that our club-record signing might leave after one year because the relationship between him and Mourinho eroded to the point that it fell apart. Who you blame for this is irrelevant at this point, so you can scream into the void if you’d like but it makes no difference. I’m trying to convince myself that this is inevitable so I’m not that angry if he’s sold. However, given the sourcing here from Aarons and Romano, this is one that we can’t ignore. We’ll follow it closely and it will probably pick up steam in the coming days.