Antonio Conte has reshaped his midfield options at Tottenham, bringing in Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski from Juventus and purging the squad of a clutch of attack-minded players.
The manager has delivered a withering assessment of the abilities of the club’s most expensive signings – Tanguy Ndombele and Giovani Lo Celso – and both were ushered towards the exit on Monday. Ndombele has returned to his previous club, Lyon, while Lo Celso has gone to Villarreal, each on loan until the end of the season.
Lyon paid a loan fee of €1.42m for Ndombele and they have the option to make the deal permanent for €65m. Spurs spent just under £60m when they took Ndombele in the summer of 2019 while Lo Celso cost them about £57m from Real Betis at the same time, initially on loan.
Conte has sent Bryan Gil on loan to Valencia for the remainder of the season, six months after the 20-year-old winger signed from Sevilla for £21.6m – in a deal that also saw Érik Lamela move in the opposite direction. Gil has yet to start a Premier League game and Conte has used him mainly as a late substitute.
Dele Alli also left the club – another player with whom Conte has not been impressed since he took over from Nuno Espírito Santo in early November. Everton have signed the former England international on a free but must pay £10m after he makes 20 appearances. Add-ons could raise the fee to about £30m. Newcastle tried to hijack the deal but Everton confirmed he had joined them at 00:20 GMT on Tuesday.
Bentancur, the 24-year-old Uruguay international, who is back at home preparing for Tuesday’s World Cup qualifier against Venezuela, will offer Conte an option in central midfield, where he will compete with Pierre-Emile Højbjerg, Oliver Skipp and Harry Winks. He has signed a contract to 2026 and has cost an initial €19m with €6m in potential add-ons.
Kulusevski, the 21-year-old Sweden international, is hard-working and versatile, able to play across the line behind the striker. Spurs have got him on an 18-month loan, for which they have paid €10m. There is an obligation to make the move permanent for €35m if certain objectives are met. Juventus paid €35m to Atalanta for him in January 2020.
