Tottenham turn to Serbian star as Ndombele set for exit

Tottenham’s Tanguy Ndombele could be on his way out.

Tanguy Ndombele has fallen out of favour at the club under new Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho, and the Frenchman hasn’t played since the season restart. The Portuguese boss clearly prefers the likes of Harry Winks, Eric Dier and Moussa Sissoko ahead of the 23-year-old, who is likely to leave North London just one year after arriving from Lyon.

In a disappointing season interrupted by injuries, Ndombele has made only 12 starts in the Premier League after a promising debut in which he scored against Aston Villa.

Mourinho has been linked with Hojbjerg for a while now. The former Bayern Munich midfielder was replaced as Southampton captain by James Ward-Prowse in January thanks to numerous transfer rumours surrounding him.

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His contract expires next summer, and he has expressed his desire to play Champions League football. Although Spurs might not be able to offer that, it seems likely that Hojbjerg will leave the Saints soon.

According to Foot Mercato, Tottenham is keen on further bolstering their midfield options by signing Lazio’s Sergej Milinkovic-Savic as well.

The Serbian midfielder has long been linked with clubs like Manchester United, Real Madrid, Chelsea and Manchester City, but a transfer never materialized after a slight drop in form over the last few years.

This season though, he’s been back to his best under Simone Inzaghi, scoring 5 goals and providing 5 assists for high-flying Lazio. The 25-year-old has been one of the standout midfielders in Serie A.

Savic is similar in style to Ndombele in many ways – both of them are physical, box-to-box midfielders who can also score goals.

Signing him would normally be a bit ambitious for Spurs, but Mourinho is repeatedly ready to sell players in order to raise funds. A straight swap deal between Ndombele and Savic would also suit both clubs well.

Meanwhile, Tottenham is still technically in the race for the top 4, but face an uphill battle against in-form teams like Chelsea, United and Wolves.