Napoli have confirmed the capture of 25-year-old Romanian defender Vlad Chiriches for a reported fee of €6 million.
Chiriches spent two years at Tottenham but struggled to nail down a starting berth and will now seek first-team football in a side which shipped 54 goals last term.
The defender becomes the fifth arrival of the summer in Naples as the side prepare for their Serie A opener against Sassuolo in three weeks time.
A troublesome period in England
Chiriches was a highly sought after defender prior to his arrival in North London, though his deterioration ran parallel to that of Spurs'.
Initially a revelation under Andres-Villas Boas, the Romanian suffered vastly under Tim Sherwood and soon became a figure of derision as his opportunities at centre-half became more scarce.
Mauricio Pochettino's arrival last summer did not prove to be the turning point in his career as the defender featured a measly 10 times last season before seeing red in what turned out to be his farewell apperance in Tottenham colours against Stoke City.
The addition of Toby Alderweireld to Spurs' ranks rendered Chiriches surplus to requirements and Tottenham will recoup half of their expenditure on the defender.
Aiming to mend a fragile backline
Napoli's defensive frailty under Rafa Benitez last season was well-documented. The side leaked 54 goals as they missed out on Champions League football for the second consecutive year and Maurizio Sarri has moved swiftly to rectify that.
Kalidou Koulibaly, who arrived in Naples 12 months ago, struggled for consistency and it is hoped that Chiriches can merge a formidable pairing with Raul Albiol at the heart of Sarri's defence.
The club sold Miguel Britos to Watford last month and their efforts to replace the Uruguayian with Cagliari defender Davide Astori -- who spent last season on loan at Roma -- proved unsuccessful.