Tottenham Hotspur have agreed deals to offload their former record signings Tanguy Ndombélé and Davinson Sánchez to Galatasaray.
Spurs confirmed on Monday night night that the Turkish champions have completed the permanent transfer of the defender Sánchez for a fee believed to be worth about £13 million.
A loan deal has also been agreed for Ndombélé, which includes an option to buy the midfielder next summer. The transfer window in Turkey does not close until September 15.
Ndombélé, who remains Tottenham’s record signing since joining the club in 2019 for £55 million — surpassing the previous record of £42 million for Sánchez when he joined from Ajax in 2017 — has not been included in any match-day squad under the new head coach Ange Postecoglou.
The French midfielder has not played for Tottenham since Boxing Day 2021 and the club have been actively trying to offload him. He spent last season on loan at Napoli, having joined Lyon for the second half of the 2021-22 season.
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Sánchez has been told he can depart Tottenham despite his exit leaving Postecoglou short of options in central defence
MI NEWS & SPORT/ALAMY LIVE NEWS
Postecoglou has reshaped Tottenham’s midfield this campaign, with the £40 million summer signing James Maddison partnering Pape Sarr and Yves Bissouma. Tottenham are also expecting Rodrigo Bentancur, one of last season’s standout players, to return to availability in November; he underwent surgery to a ruptured cruciate ligament in February.
Postecoglou has been keen to trim his squad and sanctioned both departures, even though Sánchez’s exit will leave options in central defence limited. The Australian has a first-choice pairing of Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven, with Eric Dier, Ben Davies and 18-year-old summer signing Ashley Phillips available as back-up.
The goalkeeper and former club captain Hugo Lloris may have to wait until the January transfer window to secure a departure now. Chelsea had shown interest in the Frenchman, which would have reunited him with former Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino, but the move never progressed. Guglielmo Vicario, signed from Empoli as Lloris’s replacement, has been Postecolgou’s No 1 goalkeeper to date.
