Low expectations could see Vincent Marcel thrive at Tottenham Hotspur

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Could it be third time lucky for Tottenham Hotspur?

Tottenham Hotspur are making their move for Nice winger Vincent Marcel, with French website Footmercato reporting he has agreed terms of a five-year deal with the North London side.

No transfer fee has yet been agreed with his club Nice, meaning the deal is not quite over the line yet.

Fans are right to be wary about signing Marcel, as he would be the third winger added from France in the last three seasons.

The last two, Clinton N’Jie and Georges-Kevin N’Koudou have been failures, unable to establish themselves in the Tottenham XI.

Nice midfielder Vincent Marcel

Marcel has an inferior track record to either player before they headed to North London. Both N’Jie and N’Koudou were established for their clubs. Marcel by comparison started only three games for Nice in Ligue 1 last season.

Nationality and circumstance are though no reason to write him off before he has even arrived, and the low expectations may actually work in Marcel’s favour.

Part of the difficulty for N’Jie and N’Koudou will have been mentally feeling under pressure after slow starts following their moves.

Tottenham’s Georges-Kevin Nkoudou in action with Gent’s Thomas Foket

Both players arrived late in the summer transfer window and were immediately on the back foot, unable to get a foothold in the XI.

If Tottenham can get Marcel through the door before the team report to pre-season training next month, he will immediately stand a better chance of success than either N’Jie or N’Koudou did.

Marcel played on both the left and right wing last season in his combined 10 appearances for Nice, and this versatility would help his cause too.

With Tottenham’s entire team facing a new challenge of settling into life at Wembley next season, Marcel could grow into that experience with the rest of the squad and feel like less of a new boy looking to impress.

The very low bar set by his predecessors will make it very hard for him to do worse, and while he will have everything to prove, Tottenham fans shouldn’t write him off before he arrives.