Player Watch - Tanguy Ndombele

[Donki]

 

[Hotspur88]

Apart from the fact this interview was in relation to Lo Celso and Ndombele's entourage did everything they could to force a move behind the scenes.

Ndombele does seem to slowly be showing what he needs to, but it certainly hasn't been this way in the past.

 

[wrd]

Unless I'm mistaken, isn't this a clip from when he's talking about Lo Celso? Unless he's done an interview in the same spot.

 

[Donki]

I think it was about GLC but its what Jose does, he will poke you and poke you and if there is no reaction he will publicly out you until he gets a response.

Unless I'm mistaken, isn't this a clip from when he's talking about Lo Celso? Unless he's done an interview in the same spot.

He looks like he is in a shed.

 

[King of Otters]

Fuck me, Twitter is awful.

 

[SargeantMeatCurtains]

I vaguely remember reading that Ndombele showed up to big games for Lyon and very rarely cared or tried in the lesser games. The fact he was dropping back in the 78th minute to win a header at the back post against a team who’s name I still can’t pronounce speaks volumes for the work he and Jose are putting in behind the scenes.

 

[King of Otters]

Article on his mini-resurgence from, who else, The Athletic

Spoiler

For most in the Spurs ranks, Thursday night’s 3-1 win in North Macedonia will be filed in the “move on and quickly forget about” category — job done, but little more than that.

Perhaps not though for Tanguy Ndombele, for whom the Europa League victory over KF Shkendija felt like the start of something. It’s easy to dismiss the significance of the game because of the quality of the opposition, but this was Ndombele completing 90 minutes for the first time in 2020, and for only the second time during Jose Mourinho’s 10 months in charge. And in a game that Tottenham could scarcely afford to lose — both financially and in the sense of how it would have killed their early-season momentum, Ndombele was trusted to help get the job done.

Ndombele repaid that faith with surely his most complete performance under Mourinho. Starting consecutive games for the first time since January 1, the 23-year-old was kept on when Mourinho made a double change on the hour mark in response to conceding an equaliser and actually grew stronger for the final half-hour. It was an impressive physical response from a player who hadn’t played more than 65 minutes of a game since December. He had been taken off at half-time in fact in each of his three previous starts.

But there is a feeling at Tottenham that this season we will get to see the Ndombele that Spurs shelled out £55 million for in July 2019 — an extraordinarily gifted midfield player who is just as comfortable losing an opponent with the drop of a shoulder as he is dissecting a defence with an angled through-ball. “He’s feeling better than ever,” says one dressing-room source, while Mourinho said earlier this month: “He is working very hard, honestly working better than ever. If he can keep that commitment, desire, he has incredible potential.”

Ndombele’s first season in England was plagued by injuries and fitness issues, but he hopes now to be close to full capacity in the next two to three weeks. Certainly the sight of him working back into his own area to win a back-post header in the 75th minute on Thursday, followed by a dash from deep in the Spurs half to lead a counter that ended with him crossing for Lucas Moura in the closing stages, offered encouragement. Ndombele tracked back diligently throughout and won the ball back on a number of occasions — much to the satisfaction of Mourinho, whose criticisms of the player were, in his mind, always aimed at getting the best out of him.

And having looked on his way out of Tottenham at the back end of last season when he played just 64 minutes after lockdown, Ndombele is now staying put. His relationship with Mourinho has improved and the pair are starting to understand one another a bit better.

Reflecting on it now, it feels as though the two men are such different personalities that a clash was almost inevitable. Mourinho, the alpha male who tries to challenge and inspire his players with his “confrontational leadership” style and Ndombele, someone who, according to one source, “doesn’t speak. If he doesn’t play, he’ll say, ‘no problem’. He cares a lot, but he is not one for long conversations.”

In general, it’s worth bearing this context in mind when considering Ndombele’s first season with Spurs — a naturally introverted character with minimal English alone in a new city with his family back in France. Those who worked with him at Lyon say he was similarly reserved in his first season there, and while Ndombele is never going to be a ranter and raver off the pitch, he is starting to become more comfortable — helped by his close friends and fellow French speakers like Moussa Sissoko and Serge Aurier.

On the pitch, Ndombele is also becoming more expressive. Having come on as a substitute to score the winner against Lokomotiv Plovdiv last week, it was Ndombele’s beautiful turn and pass around the halfway line that started the move for Son Heung-min’s equaliser against Southampton on Sunday. It was also the sort of progressive play from that area of the pitch rarely seen by a Tottenham player since Mousa Dembele departed in January 2019.

Against Shkendija on Thursday, there were plenty of moments that were pleasing on the eye. In the first half, Ndombele came up with one of those turns he often produces when he waits for the ball, rolls the man and saunters onto the ball the other side. His passing range is similarly eye-catching, and a threaded ball to Aurier ended in a glorious chance headed wide by Erik Lamela. Ndombele was also involved in Son’s goal with a pass to Giovani Lo Celso, who worked the ball through to Lucas Moura.

There were still moments when you wanted more from Ndombele, such as the couple of occasions when opposition midfielders went by him too easily, and clearly far stiffer tests await, but it would be churlish after such a difficult first year not to be encouraged by comfortably his best seven days since joining the club.

Certainly chairman Daniel Levy will have been happy with what he saw. Levy is understood to have offered a lot of support to Ndombele, which the Frenchman has appreciated, and is naturally desperate for his £55 million investment to pay off. “Selling Tanguy would have been a big defeat for Levy,” as one source puts it.

It certainly would have been a big defeat if he had struggled to recoup much of that money, which in the depressed market this summer most likely would have been the case. Had Spurs received a serious offer, Mourinho would certainly have been interested.

Levy though might well have expressed caution in writing off a record signing too quickly. In the Amazon Prime documentary All or Nothing, he offers Sissoko, another record signing, to Ndombele as an example of someone who turned their Spurs career around after a tricky first season.

The scorer of Tottenham’s opening goal on Thursday, Lamela, is another who initially looked like being a Spurs record signing that wouldn’t deliver but has gone on to carve out a good career with the club. Meanwhile, the club’s most expensive signing prior to Ndombele’s arrival, Davinson Sanchez, has made solid rather than spectacular progress that has required patience from his managers.

By contrast, Darren Bent was jettisoned after a couple of seasons following his then club-record £16.5 million move from Charlton Athletic in 2007.

For so long it felt inevitable that Ndombele would end up being viewed as an expensive mistake. Perhaps he still will be — but Thursday night was an important step in the right direction.

 

[Ron Burgundy]

He’s no Dembele, nobody is

...literally nobody. One of my favourite ever player. Years back he won't be talked about in the same breath as some of the best players in the league. But he should be. Totally unplayable on his day.

, but there’s something about him that makes me enjoy watching him that you don’t often get from a player in that position. Rather have him in my team than not. Will be lethal with full match fitness and confidence.

Yup. If he can stick to it. If Jose gives him confidence, and he pays it back, then he could be brilliant for us

 

[SargeantMeatCurtains]

Article on his mini-resurgence from, who else, The Athletic

Spoiler

For most in the Spurs ranks, Thursday night’s 3-1 win in North Macedonia will be filed in the “move on and quickly forget about” category — job done, but little more than that.

Perhaps not though for Tanguy Ndombele, for whom the Europa League victory over KF Shkendija felt like the start of something. It’s easy to dismiss the significance of the game because of the quality of the opposition, but this was Ndombele completing 90 minutes for the first time in 2020, and for only the second time during Jose Mourinho’s 10 months in charge. And in a game that Tottenham could scarcely afford to lose — both financially and in the sense of how it would have killed their early-season momentum, Ndombele was trusted to help get the job done.

Ndombele repaid that faith with surely his most complete performance under Mourinho. Starting consecutive games for the first time since January 1, the 23-year-old was kept on when Mourinho made a double change on the hour mark in response to conceding an equaliser and actually grew stronger for the final half-hour. It was an impressive physical response from a player who hadn’t played more than 65 minutes of a game since December. He had been taken off at half-time in fact in each of his three previous starts.

But there is a feeling at Tottenham that this season we will get to see the Ndombele that Spurs shelled out £55 million for in July 2019 — an extraordinarily gifted midfield player who is just as comfortable losing an opponent with the drop of a shoulder as he is dissecting a defence with an angled through-ball. “He’s feeling better than ever,” says one dressing-room source, while Mourinho said earlier this month: “He is working very hard, honestly working better than ever. If he can keep that commitment, desire, he has incredible potential.”

Ndombele’s first season in England was plagued by injuries and fitness issues, but he hopes now to be close to full capacity in the next two to three weeks. Certainly the sight of him working back into his own area to win a back-post header in the 75th minute on Thursday, followed by a dash from deep in the Spurs half to lead a counter that ended with him crossing for Lucas Moura in the closing stages, offered encouragement. Ndombele tracked back diligently throughout and won the ball back on a number of occasions — much to the satisfaction of Mourinho, whose criticisms of the player were, in his mind, always aimed at getting the best out of him.

And having looked on his way out of Tottenham at the back end of last season when he played just 64 minutes after lockdown, Ndombele is now staying put. His relationship with Mourinho has improved and the pair are starting to understand one another a bit better.

Reflecting on it now, it feels as though the two men are such different personalities that a clash was almost inevitable. Mourinho, the alpha male who tries to challenge and inspire his players with his “confrontational leadership” style and Ndombele, someone who, according to one source, “doesn’t speak. If he doesn’t play, he’ll say, ‘no problem’. He cares a lot, but he is not one for long conversations.”

In general, it’s worth bearing this context in mind when considering Ndombele’s first season with Spurs — a naturally introverted character with minimal English alone in a new city with his family back in France. Those who worked with him at Lyon say he was similarly reserved in his first season there, and while Ndombele is never going to be a ranter and raver off the pitch, he is starting to become more comfortable — helped by his close friends and fellow French speakers like Moussa Sissoko and Serge Aurier.

On the pitch, Ndombele is also becoming more expressive. Having come on as a substitute to score the winner against Lokomotiv Plovdiv last week, it was Ndombele’s beautiful turn and pass around the halfway line that started the move for Son Heung-min’s equaliser against Southampton on Sunday. It was also the sort of progressive play from that area of the pitch rarely seen by a Tottenham player since Mousa Dembele departed in January 2019.

Against Shkendija on Thursday, there were plenty of moments that were pleasing on the eye. In the first half, Ndombele came up with one of those turns he often produces when he waits for the ball, rolls the man and saunters onto the ball the other side. His passing range is similarly eye-catching, and a threaded ball to Aurier ended in a glorious chance headed wide by Erik Lamela. Ndombele was also involved in Son’s goal with a pass to Giovani Lo Celso, who worked the ball through to Lucas Moura.

There were still moments when you wanted more from Ndombele, such as the couple of occasions when opposition midfielders went by him too easily, and clearly far stiffer tests await, but it would be churlish after such a difficult first year not to be encouraged by comfortably his best seven days since joining the club.

Certainly chairman Daniel Levy will have been happy with what he saw. Levy is understood to have offered a lot of support to Ndombele, which the Frenchman has appreciated, and is naturally desperate for his £55 million investment to pay off. “Selling Tanguy would have been a big defeat for Levy,” as one source puts it.

It certainly would have been a big defeat if he had struggled to recoup much of that money, which in the depressed market this summer most likely would have been the case. Had Spurs received a serious offer, Mourinho would certainly have been interested.

Levy though might well have expressed caution in writing off a record signing too quickly. In the Amazon Prime documentary All or Nothing, he offers Sissoko, another record signing, to Ndombele as an example of someone who turned their Spurs career around after a tricky first season.

The scorer of Tottenham’s opening goal on Thursday, Lamela, is another who initially looked like being a Spurs record signing that wouldn’t deliver but has gone on to carve out a good career with the club. Meanwhile, the club’s most expensive signing prior to Ndombele’s arrival, Davinson Sanchez, has made solid rather than spectacular progress that has required patience from his managers.

By contrast, Darren Bent was jettisoned after a couple of seasons following his then club-record £16.5 million move from Charlton Athletic in 2007.

For so long it felt inevitable that Ndombele would end up being viewed as an expensive mistake. Perhaps he still will be — but Thursday night was an important step in the right direction.

I don’t see a lick of colour in your avatar, therefore what you’re saying is incredibly insightful and trustworthy. Thanks for sharing. Did you write this yourself?

 

[dudu]

Really impressive work rate last night. I am hugely relieved to see this as a Ndombele playing to his potential will be an absolute game-changer for us - maybe even more important than the Bale signing.

He keeps it up, he becomes a spurs legend.

 

[Norgie]

I don't know if it's be said before but it probably has helped him not getting any love from the fans, if only he could hear the fans singing his name it might have helped him push on.

 

[King of Otters]

I don’t see a lick of colour in your avatar, therefore what you’re saying is incredibly insightful and trustworthy. Thanks for sharing. Did you write this yourself?

As soon as I changed my avatar to b&w, I was immediately offered a 5 year contract at The Athletic.

You'd think getting a paid football journalism gig would be harder than that, but apparently that's really all there is to it.

 

[Gilzeanking]

People here are blaming themselves for thinking ND was not a goer for us .

I think they are forgetting the absolutely negative ITK re ND which made us think things were very bad. Herc (was it ?) said ND was surely leaving because something had occurred that was so dreadful he couldn't even relate it to us .

Delighted N'Dombele is still with us .

 

[kieranfitchett]

delighted he’s showing signs of turning it around, I did doubt how motivated he was to make it work at spurs but he’s had a very promising start to the season, hope it continues, there’s a hell of a player there once he gets firing on all cylinders

 

[Spurrific]

Apart from the fact this interview was in relation to Lo Celso and Ndombele's entourage did everything they could to force a move behind the scenes.

Ndombele does seem to slowly be showing what he needs to, but it certainly hasn't been this way in the past.

Apologies if I've missed something official, but what are you basing this on?

 

[Hotspur88]

Apologies if I've missed something official, but what are you basing this on?

I'm pretty sure it was information given by our resident ITK's a good few weeks back.

If I have that wrong then I apologise but I could swear there was info about this.

 

[Spurrific]

I'm pretty sure it was information given by our resident ITK's a good few weeks back.

If I have that wrong then I apologise but I could swear there was a info about this.

Nah, there was info - but that is all it is at the end of the day. A bit of light-hearted internet gossip. We did also have one poster say Ndombele had a "stinking attitude" but that we "won't sell no matter how much he wants to leave" a week or 2 before declaring that he loved playing for Spurs and was eager to make it work. Imo, the interaction between Levy and Ndombele in the documentary sort of put to bed all these rumours of him desperately trying to force a move.

 

[Goobers]

He certainly impressed people last night.
I really do prefer him playing from deeper though.
Is it too much to expect him to be able to start against Newcastle ?

 

[snakehipsspurs]

I've been saying the same all lockdown Tanguy, but I've just scoffed a full tub of pringles.

 

[yankspurs]

Enjoyed watching him last night, but it was against a team from a country with 2m occupants who really don’t have a ‘top tier’ football club. He played well though.

Jury is still out from me though. I understand everyone is desperate for him to succeed, but some of the OTT praise comments are almost to an equal of the previous negative ones.

Keep doing the right things TN and hopefully you’ll start against The Geordies and take another positive step forward ?

I have and always will continue to praise him hugely to counteract the disgusting, slanderous, borderline racist remarks on here off the back of some highly irresponsible bits of info posted that has since, unsurprisingly, been shown to be total horseshit. Every single one of you in this thread need to have a long, hard look at yourselves after this.