Tottenham Hotspur’s supporters can breathe a huge sigh of relief.
The North Londoners may not have to put up with seeing Tanguy Ndombele in their white shirt again.
At least that’s what they’ll hope after the latest words from Lyon’s president, Jean-Michel Aulas, reported by journalist Fabrizio Romano.
Ndombele was the record signing for Spurs when he put pen to paper, but apart from an initial burst from him, there wasn’t an awful lot to write home about in truth.
The final straw for player and club appeared to come when he was substituted against Morecambe in the FA Cup.
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Seeing his number raised, and with Tottenham embarrassingly not having put the lower league side to the sword, rather than trotting off, Ndombele, with head bowed, ambled off the pitch as slow as he possibly could.
He then proceeded to walk straight down the tunnel, eliciting boos from the White Hart Lane faithful as he did so.
Antonio Conte was never going to put up with that kind of insouciance, and it was a foregone conclusion from that point that Ndombele would be look for pastures new.
As it turned out, he returned from whence he came, with Lyon taking him on loan for the rest of the 2021/22 campaign.
There isn’t believed to be a compulsory purchase at the end of the loan and, theoretically, the player could return to North London.
However, Aulas has opened the door to a switch that could suit all parties.
OL president Aulas on signing Ndombele on permament deal from Tottenham: “We have to let a few games pass by. But if we win the Europa League, anything is possible”, he told RMC. ?? #OL
“We needed to negotiate with Tottenham a lot – it wasn’t easy”, Aulas added. #THFC pic.twitter.com/v5ZFBolC7x
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) February 16, 2022