Napoli would not have an obligation to sign Tanguy Ndombele from Tottenham if they qualify for the Champions League, football.london understands.
There had been suggestions and reports in Italy after the Frenchman signed for the Serie A side that should they qualify for the Champions League for next season then the 30m euros (£26.3m) option to buy Ndombele would become an obligation to purchase him from Tottenham.
Napoli are running away with the Serie A title and sit 16 points clear of second-placed Lazio and 23 points above fifth-placed Inter Milan. With nine games remaining of the league season that means Luciano Spalletti's side should have Champions League qualification in the bag within the next few weeks.
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However, football.london understands there is no mechanism in the original transfer for such an achievement to turn Ndombele's option into an obligation.
The 26-year-old, who will be part of Napoli's side to face AC Milan in the Champions League quarter-final first leg on Wednesday evening, has made 35 appearances and has played his part, albeit mostly from the bench, in his team's charge towards the title, with two goals and one assist, often playing in a deeper role.
It remains to be seen whether he has made enough of an impact on Spalletti to convince the Italian side to part with £26.3m for a player who has started only six matches in Serie A and two in the Champions League.
If Napoli do not broker a deal with Spurs then club record signing Ndombele will return this summer with a contract that runs until 2025 and either look to push on under a fourth Tottenham manager or more likely another exit route will be found.
"I don’t know what my future will be, many fans ask me to return to Tottenham but the clubs will decide and Napoli have an option to buy," Ndombele said this month in an interview with French publication So Foot.
"I don't mind being on loan here but sometimes I see footballers being treated more like commodities than people."
On leaving Spurs last summer he added: "There was no other solution with Tottenham and I'm happy I chose Napoli. With [Antonio] Conte there was no choice, I would have liked to demonstrate my value on the pitch but I was on the edge of the group. It was communicated to me from the first day of training with the team."
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