Barcelona 'said no' to Tanguy Ndombele claims pundit
Barcelona are reportedly prepared to offer Philippe Coutinho or Nelson Semedo as part of a swap deal for Tanguy Ndombele. The Frenchman wants out of Tottenham just one year after joining from Lyon, following a breakdown in his relationship with Jose Mourinho.
The Tottenham boss pulled no punches when speaking on the midfielder's fitness and attitude since he replaced Mauricio Pochettino in north London.
French reports earlier in the weeks suggested that their relationship is now beyond repair following another heated discussion.
Yet Mourinho denied those claims after his side returned to winning ways with a 2-0 triumph over West Ham.
"No. There is nothing. I try to do the best for my team. I can't start with 12 or 13 players, sometimes I apologise to the ones I cannot pick," said Mourinho.
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Both players top a long list of players that the Nou Camp hierarchy are keen to offload to free up summer funds.
Lautaro Martinez and Neymar remain on Barcelona's shortlist with Miralem Pjanic also on the agenda.
The two forwards won't come cheap with their current clubs set to demand at least £150million.
Coutinho is a player of interest to Tottenham chief Daniel Levy.
Last August, Levy and Pochettino discussed the possibility of a loan with option to buy for the Brazilian.
Barcelona were looking to offload the playmaker before he eventually moved to Bayern Munich.
Pochettino worked with Coutinho at Espanyol and was keen on a reunion should it coincide with Tottenham's budget.
Spurs instead secured a deal for Giovani Lo Celso, who has now joined the club on a permanent basis.
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Tanguy Ndombele has told Jose Mourinho he doesn't want to play for him again (Image: GETTY)
Coutinho's agent Kia Joorabchian recently confirmed his client would be open on a return to the Premier League, where he spent five years with Liverpool.
“If the opportunity arises to come back to the Premier League, whether it be this year or in the future, he’s definitely looking at that," Joorabchian said.
Right-back is an area that Mourinho wants to upgrade this summer.
He had explored the possibility of signing Thomas Meunier, who will now join Borussia Dortmund.
Norwich City's Max Aarons and RB Leipzig's Nordi Mukiele are among other targets.