‘He has to be better’: Mourinho says ‘very tired’ Tottenham player needs to get fitter

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Tottenham Hotspur boss Jose Mourinho has said that Tanguy Ndombele still needs to work on his fitness, as per his comments on Football London.

Ndombele completed 90 minutes for the second time in the space of a few days when Tottenham took on Chelsea in midweek.

The French midfielder put in an excellent display, as Spurs won on penalties against their London rivals.

Mourinho embraced Ndombele at the end, which suggested that the Portuguese boss was very pleased with his performance.

But Mourinho still doesn’t feel as if Ndombele has reached the peak of his powers yet.

“He was very tired after the game, there is even a picture with everyone running to Hugo Lloris after the last penalty and Tanguy is not going,” Mourinho said.

“He is playing amazing. He is playing so, so well. You can feel the happiness and a happy player his performance goes in the right direction.

“Physically he can be better, he has to be better, he will be better, but in this moment if you compare this Tanguy with the Tanguy of last season, the Tanguy of this pre-season – a pre-season he did not have much of because of his injury and other problems – there is no point in comparing because they are so different.

“Yesterday I had a big hug with him, even before the penalties, even before the victory, just for the feeling of what he gave for the 90 minutes. I am very happy with Tanguy. But he can be better because he can be really phenomenal.”

Mourinho’s comments are highly exciting, as Ndombele already appears to be starting to have a huge influence on games.

If he can get even better in the future, then Tottenham really could have one of the finest midfielders in the league.

It seems unlikely that Spurs will start Ndombele in the Europa League later this evening, but he could feature against Manchester United at the weekend, as he now seems to have become an established member of Mourinho’s first choice line-up.