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Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Tanguy Ndombele has opened up about his failed PSG move after joining Lyon on loan.
The Frenchman was heavily linked with the Parisians on transfer deadline day but they needed to offload one or two players from their squad to fit him inside their wage bill.
But that didn't happen, and the 25-year-old ended up returning to his old club, with Les Gones paying £1.2 million in loan fee and retaining the option to make the move permanent in the summer for a reported £54 million.
In his first press conference since relocating to Lyon, the midfielder offered some insight into his failed PSG transfer, hinting there was no contact with the club despite rumors.
He said:
“There have been discussions with a lot of clubs, but a gap between words and action. I have three and a half months before the end of the season, and Lyon is not bad for me. I left through the front door, and it’s a risk to come back. I took that risk.
“I think I’m a better player than when I left. I learned in England, even though it didn’t go well. I am better physically and mentally. (…) I have known five coaches in two and a half years. It’s not their fault, but I had a little trouble at Tottenham. I wanted something else. Lyon, as I know, is better for adaptation.”
PSG's failure to reduce squad hampered Ndombele transfer
PSG were understood to be heading into the January transfer window looking to chop off some of the deadwood in the squad. That would have also facilitated Ndombele's transfer and helped PSG lessen the burden on Marco Verratti, but no player left the club in the first place.
Now head coach Mauricio Pochettino is left with the dilemma to axe one or two players from the Champions League squad he is set to announce in a few days.
Tottenham signed Ndombele for a staggering £55.45 million from Lyon in 2019 but the midfielder could never live up to the hype.
Although he made 63 appearances in the Premier League, the France international's time was riddled with injuries and could never settle in at the club.
