Jonathan Johnson has claimed that there is a ‘similar perception’ in France of Tottenham Hotspur’s Tanguy Ndombele having an attitude that doesn’t match his talents, as he told Sky Sports.
The Ligue 1 expert added that Ndombele is seen as someone who is ‘extremely talented’, but the Tottenham Hotspur midfielder is still trying to find ‘the right person to get a tune out of him’.
Mauricio Pochettino was in the Spurs dugout when Ndombele joined for a then-club-record transfer fee of £53.8 million from Lyon in 2019 (BBC Sport), before he worked under Jose Mourinho and then Antonio Conte.
The latter two just didn’t take to Ndombele, even though he was played quite a lot by Mourinho, with his lack of work off the ball a big problem.
These are two world-class coaches questioning him and the player not being able to answer, which is a big worry, as Johnson shared what people of France think of Ndombele.
“There is a similar perception over here in France that everyone knows Tanguy Ndombele is an extremely talented player,” said Johnson. “He has a lot to give when he is fit and fully focused.
“It’s the question of trying to find the right person to get a tune out of him because it’s really not worked out for him during the last couple of years at Spurs.
“That return to Lyon was with very limited success. He has some first-team action, but that was literally about it. He was nowhere near good enough for Lyon to stomp up the money that would be needed to keep him permanently.
“There are always going to be takers for his signature in France. But I don’t see any French clubs, at this moment in time, with the financial capacity to take that sort of risk on him. They would need to have him on loan and then see what he can bring on the pitch.”
TIME RUNNING OUT FOR NDOMBELE
Ndombele is still part of Tottenham’s squad heading into the new Premier League season, but it doesn’t seem as though he will be playing much.
Even with five substitutions being introduced this season, he still probably won’t make the bench for Conte, who kick off their season at home to Southampton.
Last season, the ball-carrying expert was loaned back to Lyon, the fact that they didn’t want him back is alarming and shows how far he has fallen.
Time is running out for the 25-year-old and he is at the stage of his career when teams in the top leagues in Europe just won’t take a look at him.
Ndombele is more than good enough, with the ball at his feet to, not just play on a regular basis for a Champions League team, but for France also, but he is far, far away from that now.
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