Tanguy Ndombele is losing his battle to convince Antonio Conte he can adapt to his Tottenham revolution with the club set to make him available this month.
The midfielder, Spurs’ record signing, was heavily booed by his own supporters during Sunday’s 3-1 FA Cup third round win over Morecambe, infuriating fans by slowly walking off the pitch as he was being substituted despite the fact his team were losing 1-0 to the League One team at the time.
Conte tried to play down the incident after the game but Ndombele’s future under the Italian head coach is now looking bleak with the club ready to listen to offers for the 25-year-old.
Antonio Conte (left) is believed to be open to the idea of selling Tanguy Ndombele (right)
Sportsmail has learned that Conte had originally planned for Ndombele to stay at the club until at least the end of the season, believing the midfielder had the talent and profile to play a role in his plans moving forward.
But Conte had significant reservations about Ndombele’s work-rate but felt he could motivate the Frenchman to contribute more off the ball.
However, it is understood that Conte is now minded to let Ndombele leave the club during the January transfer window, permanently or on loan, after the player failed to convince him of his desire to work harder – while the furore that greeted his substitution on Sunday has reinforced the club’s stance.
Ndombele (left) was replaced in the second half against Morecambe by Conte for Lucas Moura
The prospect of Ndombele leaving Spurs this month is relatively new and it is understood the club are still waiting for concrete interest to emerge.
Ndombele arrived from Lyon in 2019 for a fee of up to £65million on a five-year deal worth in the region of £200,000 per week.
His massive wages are likely to prove a stumbling block in Tottenham’s attempts to offload him this month, but work has begun to establish if there is interest.
Elsewhere, Tottenham expect Dele Alli’s future to be decided towards the end of the window.
The midfielder can leave the club this month, but Alli’s future is still unclear as Spurs await concrete offers.
Conte felt he could make Ndombele (left) more active off the ball but that has not happened