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Tanguy Ndombele cost Tottenham more than £1MILLION per game before forgotten flop ripped contract up a year early
The midfielder ended up costing the North Londoners close to £100million
TANGUY NDOMBELE cost Tottenham at least £1million a game before being cut loose a year before his eye-watering contract was due to end.
The Frenchman proved to be the worst signing in Spurs’ history after joining for a club-record £54million - rising to £63m with add-ons - from Lyon on a six-year deal in 2019.
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He only played 91 times for the North Londoners, scoring ten times, before being shipped out on consecutive loans to Lyon, Napoli and Galatasaray.
In a damning indictment on the midfielder, 27, none of the trio took up options to sign him permanently.
And yesterday, Spurs decided to settle on a figure to pay up the final year of his £200,000-a-week deal.
Even conservative estimates at how much the club ended up spending on Ndombele in total between transfer fee, wages and his pay-off have it more than £91m.
That accounts for £54m in transfer fee - minus the £1.2m and £850,000 Lyon and Napoli respectively paid in loan fees to borrow him.
Spurs will have spent £26m on his wages for the two-and-a-half years he spent at the club before his loan stints began.
Lyon and the player taking a wage cut covered his salary during his stint back in France.
But his year in Napoli is understood to have cost Spurs still between £3m-£4m in wages.
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Tottenham's top 10 biggest signings: Hit or miss?
1) Tanguy Ndombele - £52.7m
Ndombele joined from Lyon in 2019 with huge expectations after shattering Tottenham's transfer record.
But he would go on to play just 91 times for the club, scoring 10 goals and is now set to leave one year before the end of his contract.
2) Richarlison - £49.3m
Richarlison almost broke the £50m mark when he arrived from Everton in 2022 as Harry Kane's back-up.
And while his tally of 12 goals this season was a significant increase on the three from his opening Spurs campaign, he is being linked with a departure this summer.
3) Brennan Johnson - £46.8m
Johnson was signed by Ange Postecoglou last summer and has impressed in patches during his first season in North London.
He scored five goals and 10 assists in 38 games and will look to build on that in the 2024/25 campaign.
4) Cristian Romero - £44.2m
Romero initially joined on loan from Atalanta in 2021, before his impressive displays saw him secure a permanent deal the following year.
He is two games shy of 100 for Spurs and, while he can be reckless with his tackling at times, is beginning to form a promising partnership with Micky van de Ven.
5) James Maddison - £39.4m
Maddison was handed Kane's No10 shirt after arriving at Spurs and hit the ground running with three goals and five assists in his opening 11 matches.
But after getting injured against Chelsea in October, he failed to return with the same sharpness - managing just five goal contributions in 15 league matches as he missed out on England's final 26-man squad for the Euros.
6) Davinson Sanchez - £35.7m
Sanchez joined Spurs from Ajax in 2017 and played more than 200 games across a six-year spell.
But he was always considered a somewhat erratic defender who did not play more than 20 games in a Premier League season from 2020 onwards.
7) Pedro Porro - £34m
Porro was another signing who originally arrived on loan in January 2023, before he signed permanently last summer.
He has 54 appearances for Spurs under his belt, scoring seven goals and impressing under Postecoglou this season.
8) Micky van de Ven - £34m
Rapid Dutch centre-back Van de Ven was named Spurs Player of the Season in his first campaign at the club.
His pace, athleticism, and technical ability on the ball have made him arguably Postecoglou's best signing to date.
9) Moussa Sissoko - £29.8m
Sissoko came to North London for a substantial fee after being relegated with Newcastle and went on to enjoy five years at Tottenham, playing more than 200 games.
Unfortunately for the French midfielder, he is best-known for giving away a controversial penalty for handball in the first minute of Spurs' 2-0 Champions League final defeat to Liverpool in 2019.
10) Giovani Lo Celso - £27.2m
Lo Celso joined on loan from Real Betis in 2019 - a deal that was made permanent the following season.
He has 10 goals and eight assists in 108 games, with some Spurs fans still unsure about the Argentine.
And even more so during his time in Galatasaray who only covered £2.6m of his salary, with it unclear how much Ndombele would have sacrificed himself for that switch.
The pay-off Ndombele received to end his terms a year early is believed to be around £5m.
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That reduced figure could well be because Ndombele has a contract offer at another club lined up to make up the lost earnings and more.
Ndombele, who won the last of his seven France caps in 2021, fell out with then-boss Jose Mourinho and failed to win over any of the managers to succeed the Portuguese.
Current incumbent Ange Postecoglou gave Ndombele a fresh chance in the summer after taking the reins.
But Ndombele did not impress with his attitude and time-keeping and was soon shipped out by the Aussie.
Spurs yesterday (WED) confirmed the exit of the former Amiens’ man, once wanted by Barcelona and other European giants, in a statement.
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It read: “The Club can confirm the departure of Tanguy Ndombele following the mutual termination of his contract, effective from 30 June, upon the conclusion of his current loan spell.
"Wishing you all the best for the future, Tanguy."