Late on Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning, the French press dropped the bombshell that Tanguy Ndombélé wanted to leave Tottenham this summer.
The Frenchman, who only arrived last summer in a €60m transfer from Lyon, had fallen out with José Mourinho to the point where he’d personally told the Portuguese manager he no longer wanted to work under him.
This had happened on Monday, and it was explained by TF1, Foot Mercato and L’Equipe the relationship between the two had reached breaking point and would be difficult to put back together.
Furthermore, it was suggested Daniel Levy was aware this meant he might have to find the player a new landing spot this summer, with contacts already established with Barcelona regarding a potential two-year loan with an automatic view to buy.
The key at the heart of it all would be Pini Zahavi, a man whose name is closely tied to both clubs.
It’s explained the Israeli football agent knows ‘all the secret words’ at Tottenham, not only close to chairman Daniel Levy but also owner Joe Lewis.
It was Zahavi who helped facilitate the transfers of both Serge Aurier and Lucas Moura to London, and he could once again ‘become useful’, even if he doesn’t directly take care of Ndombélé’s affairs.
However, it’s pointed out nothing will take place before the end of the English league, which will be July 26th.
