£55m midfielder Newcastle wanted in 2022 is now a free agent after agreeing mututal termination of contract

Newcastle United are bargain hunting this summer, particularly in the free agent market and now a player then held an interest in a couple of years ago is suddenly available.

Tottenham Hotspur have announced that Tanguy Ndombele has been released by the club after agreeing a mutual contract termination.

The 27-year-old spent the last two seasons out on loan after things never really clicked for him in London following his £55million move from Lyon in 2019.

Ndombele is still Spurs’ record signing after Richarlison failed to activate the extra £10m add-ons following his £50million move from Everton.

French media had Newcastle in ‘pole position’ to sign Ndombele in 2022

Newcastle were interested in Ndombele back in 2022 according to The Shields Gazette, as he looked to be heading towards the Spurs exit door after being loaned back to Lyon in the second half of the 2021/22 season.

Ndombele instead went to Napoli in 2022/23 and then spent last season at Galatasaray.

In a twist of fate, Ndombele’s last Premier League goal actually came against Newcastle at St James’ Park in what was the Magpies’ first game under the PIF ownership.

Newcastle will swerve this one we rekcon

Whether he was truly worth £55million at the time of his move to Spurs or not, Ndombele is clearly not worth anywhere near that now, and even as a free transfer it would be a poor piece of business for Newcastle.

His record since he signed for Tottenham has been poor and his form while out on loan is hardly inspiring either, so whether we were once in “pole position” to sign him or not in 2022, in 2024 we’d do well to steer clear.

As a fan of funny words, it’s a shame he, much like another recently released Spurs player, Japhet Tanganga, isn’t good enough for Newcastle because their names are fun to say.