Tottenham Hotspur boss Jose Mourinho has told Football.London that he does think Tanguy Ndombele and Giovani Lo Celso can play together.
Spurs were in action on Sunday night, and picked up a 2-1 win as Gareth Bale bagged the winner, having seen Tariq Lamptey cancel out Harry Kane’s opener.
Tottenham now sit second in the Premier League table and just two points behind Liverpool, with Mourinho’s men faring well so far this term.
Sunday’s win wasn’t vintage Spurs, and Mourinho has now been asked about the possibility of a new midfield partnership moving forward.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg has been protecting the Spurs back four, with Moussa Sissoko and Tanguy Ndombele taking slightly more advanced roles.
Ndombele was substituted on Sunday night in favour of Giovani Lo Celso, which prompted questions about whether they could play together.
Fans are keen to see Lo Celso and Ndombele featuring together ahead of Hojbjerg in an exciting midfield, and Mourinho suggested that their partnership could happen – if they both improve their fitness levels.
Mourinho explained that Ndombele was ‘in trouble’ on a yellow card against Brighton, and Lo Celso needs to improve his fitness levels, but the pair could play together soon, as fans want.
“Tanguy to get a yellow card early then you play with fear. To play with fear like Tanguy is hard, he goes for dribbling, he attacks people, he loses the ball, he needs to recover, a second yellow card could arrive, from that moment Tanguy was in trouble,” said Mourinho.
“Gio brought that dynamic back to the team for the last 20 minutes. He did well for us. He is a player that needs to work, no pre-season and no end to last season.”
“He needs to recover his fitness levels, it was easy to see against Antwerp, especially to play as a central midfielder he didn’t have that fitness. To play with a Number 10, with that freedom, yes he could help us. Can he play one day together with Tanguy, yes they can but they both need to be physically in a better condition,” he added.
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