Conte is giving up on Ndombele as Spurs look to offload misfit
TANGUY NDoMBELE is losing his battle to convince Antonio Conte he can adapt to his Tottenham revolution, with the club set to make him available this month.
The midfielder, Spurs’ £55million record signing, was booed by his own supporters during Sunday’s 3-1 FA Cup third round win over Morecambe when he slowly walked off the pitch as he was being substituted. His team were losing 1-0 against the League one side at the time.
Conte played down the incident but Ndombele’s future under the italian is now looking bleak with the club ready to listen to offers for the 25-year-old.
Sportsmail has learned that Conte had originally planned for Ndombele to stay at the club until at least the end of the season, believing the France international had the talent and profile to play a role in his plans.
Conte had reservations about Ndombele’s work-rate but felt he could motivate him to contribute more off the ball.
However, it is understood that Conte is now minded to let Ndombele leave the club this month, permanently or on loan, after the player failed to convince him of his work-rate — and the furore that greeted his substitution on Sunday has reinforced the club’s stance.
The prospect of Ndombele leaving Spurs this month is relatively new and it is understood the club are still waiting for concrete interest to emerge.
Ndombele signed from Lyon in 2019 for a fee of up to £55m on a five year-deal worth in the region of £200,000 a week.
His massive wages are likely to prove a stumbling block in Tottenham’s attempts to offload him, but work has begun to establish if there is interest.
Another Spurs midfielder who could leave this month is Dele Alli, with a resolution on his future expected near the end of the window. The England international can leave the club, but Spurs await concrete offers.