Tottenham Hotspur and Villarreal have reportedly discussed a potential swap deal involving Tanguy Ndombele and Pervis Estupinan.
In recent days, the two clubs have been holding negotiations regarding a potential move for Giovani Lo Celso after his loan stint at the Yellow Submarine during 2021-22.
If reports are to be believed, a deal is close to completion, but the Argentine is just one of a number of squad members who is being allowed to depart Spurs this summer.
Ndombele falls into that bracket having fallen out of favour with Antonio Conte and not doing enough to earn a permanent switch back to Lyon during the second half of the last campaign.
With three years still remaining on his deal and Spurs currently against parting ways with the club-record signing on the cheap, agreeing terms over a transfer is far from an easy task.
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Nevertheless, according to Spanish journalist Xavi Jorquera Marquez, Spurs are open to parting ways with the Frenchman to Villarreal over the coming weeks.
Marquez says that Spurs and Villarreal have spoken about potentially using Ndombele in a swap deal involving left-sided player Estupinan.
Although Spurs currently have Sergio Reguilon to compete with Ryan Sessegnon and Ivan Perisic in that area of the pitch, Reguilon has been linked with a transfer away from North London.
Nothing appears to be imminent with the former Real Madrid man, but Spurs are seemingly keeping their options open, particularly if it means being able to offload Ndombele.
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In his two seasons at Villarreal, the 24-year-old has made 42 starts and 32 substitute appearances in all competitions, recently featuring in the team which reached the Champions League semi-finals.
However, with Villarreal having only qualified for the Europa Conference League this season, there is scope for the Ecuador international to leave the club.
Estpinan was contracted to Watford - a club located near to Spurs - between 2016 and 2020, but he instead spent much of his time out on loan.
No transfer fee has been indicated by Marquez, although Spurs may expect to get the better end of the deal financially giving their previous outlay on Ndombele.
Darren Plant
