Napoli are close to agreeing a deal to sign Tottenham midfielder Tanguy Ndombele on a season-long loan.

Ndombele is not part of Antonio Conte’s plans and talks are progressing over a deal which would include an option for the Italian side to make the move permanent next summer for around £25million.

The Frenchman is understood to be keen on the switch, with Napoli expected to compete for the title in Serie A having finished third last term and also able to offer Champions League football.

Ndombele joined Spurs from Lyon in 2019 in a club-record deal worth up to £65m but has rarely shown his best form in north London.

The 25-year-old made just nine Premier League appearances for Spurs last term and only two after Conte took over from the sacked Nuno Espirito Santo in November.

He was sent back to Lyon on loan in January but returned to Spurs this summer after an underwhelming spell that saw the club finish eighth in Ligue 1 and fall to West Ham in the quarter-finals of the Europa League.

Ndombele was one of a number of players deemed surplus to requirements left out of Tottenham’s preseason tour of South Korea and has been training individually away from the main squad.

It has been a busy summer of incomings for Spurs, who have already made six new signings and are expecting Udinese defender Destiny Udogie to become the seventh. Spurs have agreed a £15m initial fee for the 19-year-old, who will return to Udinese on loan for the rest of the season.

There remains a need to clear the decks, with Giovani Lo Celso having rejoined Villarreal on loan earlier this week, while the club are also looking to move on Sergio Reguilon and Harry Winks.