According to ESPN, Tottenham have offered Lyon a swap deal that would see Tanguy Ndombele return to France in exchange for Houssem Aouar.
On the surface, that doesn’t seem like too bad of a deal. Both players are of a similar quality and if it went through, both teams would be getting a player they’d be happy with.
However, if you scratch the surface a little, it quickly becomes apparent that swapping Ndombele for Aouar wouldn’t be a good idea from a financial standpoint.
Indeed, let’s not forget that Ndombele is Spurs’ record signing, setting them back £63m back in 2019, and now just two years later they’re willing to swap him for a player who is reportedly available for €25m (£21m).
Has Ndombele’s value really depreciated that much?
Granted, he hasn’t lit up the Premier League, but surely he’s still worth more than £21m.
According to Transfermarkt, who usually undervalue players, Ndombele is a player worth £45m, so why on earth are Spurs trying to swap him for someone who they could purchase for £21m?
Like many Ligue 1 clubs, Lyon need cash, so they’re allowing their players go for cheap, so why aren’t Tottenham taking advantage of that? Instead, they’re trying to broker a swap deal for a player who is worth more than Aouar’s asking price.
Surely, if Spurs want to sign Aouar and be rid of Ndombele, the way to do it would be to sell Ndombele to a third party and then use the cash recouped to buy Aouar and still have a bit of money left over.
Simply put, Spurs would be getting a raw deal financially if they were to swap Ndombele for Aouar.
Fabio Paratici is yet to complete his first Tottenham Hotspur transfer deal, but if these reports about an Aouar – Ndombele swap deal offer are true, then he may have already made his first mistake at Spurs.
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