Tottenham Hotspur have finally made some signings in the January transfer window as they complete moves for Juventus duo Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur.
Spurs have been busy in the transfer market this January but nothing seemed to be working for the North London side. They also suffered some late disappointment after seeing potential deals for Luis Diaz and Adama Traore hijacked by Liverpool and Barcelona respectively.
Fans of the club can finally rest easy as manager Antonio Conte gets his first signings as coach. The move for Swedish winger Dejan Kulusevski has been a long time coming, as Spurs had been linked to him since the beginning of the window. Bentancur, however, will come as a surprise as there had been little news about Spurs interest in the Uruguayan midfielder.
Kulusevski, 21, arrives on an 18-month loan with the option to make the move permanent for £30 million after the first six months, while Bentancur, 24, arrives on a four-year deal on deadline day for Tottenham.
The Serie A giants broke the news on their Twitter in separate posts for both players, which was followed up by separate posts from Tottenham’s Twitter to confirm the signings.
Kulusevski’s arrival dallied longer than Spurs expected due to negotiation issues and an injury very early in the year to Federico Chiesa which saw Kulusevski find his way back into Juventus’ dynamics and play more games. However, both the Swedish international and the Uruguayan midfielder will bring their experience of playing with a title winning side to the Tottenham Hotspur stadium to help Conte in his squad rebuild.
Ndombele joins Lyon on loan
Spurs also completed a deadline day move for outcast Tanguy Ndombele as the Frenchman sealed a loan move back to Olympique Lyonnais, from where he joined the North London club in 2019.
Bentancur’s signing is a direct replacement for Ndombele, who played 91 games in the troubled two-and-a-half seasons he was at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium.
Lyon paid a loan fee of £1.2 million for their former midfielder, who they signed to replace new Newcastle signing Bruno Guimaraes, who was also signed as a replacement for Ndombele in 2020. The French club have an option to make the loan deal permanent for Ndombele at the end of the season for £54 million.
Tottenham released a statement wishing their club record signing a good loan spell at Lyon. “Tanguy Ndombele has joined Ligue 1 side Olympique Lyonnais on loan until the end of the season,” the statement began.
“The central midfielder returns to the club from which he joined us in July 2019. He has made 91 appearances for us in all competitions to date, scoring 10 goals.”
This season, Ndombele has fallen even further down the pecking order and only started just three games under Conte since the Italian’s appointment in November 2021.
Sky Sports News reporter Paul Gilmour claims that Spurs are happy to be free of Ndombele. “Ndombele was to be the answer in a midfield with a large Mousa Dembele-shaped hole,” Gilmour wrote.
“What followed was not progress but disappointment and fast forward two-and-a-half years – and four managers (five if we include interim Ryan Mason) – and Ndombele will depart without fulfilling his promise.
“Tottenham have got their way with this deal. They have opted to back Antonio Conte over the player. Conte was not keen on the PSG players potentially being included in a swap deal, but Lyon have made their move.”
Lyon beat Valencia, Paris Saint-Germain and Everton to the signing of Ndombele, who joined Spurs for £63 million in 2019.
Bryan Gil returns to LaLiga with Valencia
20-year-old Spaniard Bryan Gil has left Tottenham Hotspur for the rest of the season to play for Valencia on loan, a year after leaving LaLiga side Sevilla in a move that saw 2021 Puskas winner Erik Lamela move to the Andalusian club.
Sevilla offered Gil and £21.6 million for Lamela in the summer and he has gone on to make 20 appearances for Spurs this season. However, he is yet to start a Premier League game and has not scored a goal.
Kulusevski comes in to take his place, although it is expected that the Swede will have a more prominent role than the young Spaniard had in his time at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium.
