Levy masterclass: Spurs just played a blinder over "unplayable" £34.2m-rated disaster - opinion

Tottenham Hotspur announced the loan departure of club-record signing Tanguy Ndombele on deadline day and now further details have emerged surrounding his exit…

The French midfielder, who cost a whopping £55m back in the summer of 2019, has returned to his former club Lyon on a short-term loan until the end of the season.

According to Italian transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, the Ligue 1 outfit have an option to buy for €65m (£54m), which could see Spurs recoup a substantial amount back in the summer, whilst they will also pay part of his £200k-per-week salary.

“Official and confirmed. Tanguy Ndombele joins OL on loan from Tottenham, including buy option not mandatory for €65m,” he tweeted. “OL will also cover part of the salary of Ndombele.”

This will be something of a masterclass from chairman Daniel Levy, who is known for his tough negotiating ability in the boardroom. To be able to garner much of what they paid for the midfield flop would be pretty remarkable indeed.

You’d just have to hope that the 25-year-old impresses enough at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais for them to sanction such a deal.

Over the past two and a half years, Ndombele has struggled to cement a regular place down in the starting XI. Four different managers ranging from Mauricio Pochettino, who signed him, to Antonio Conte now failed to get a tune out of Tottenham’s most expensive player ever.

As per Transfermarkt, the Frenchman provided only ten goals and nine assists across 91 appearances, which works out to be around one direct contribution every 271.5 minutes (or one every three games).

That’s an awfully disappointing return for someone who has often been dubbed a creative influence within this Spurs squad.

His time at the club will probably be most