Tanguy Ndombele made his first start for Tottenham yesterday.
There has been so much hype over Tottenham record signing Tanguy Ndombele that a slow performance in his first start may have done him a favour.
Ndombele started for Spurs in the heat of Shanghai in a 2-1 friendly defeat to Manchester United.
The result didn’t matter to Tottenham, this was a chance for them to give minutes to build up the fitness of their players.
For Ndombele in particular it was a very useful exercise.
This was his first taste of what a Premier League game will be like, with both sides flying in with crunching tackles.
He will be in no shock when he tastes it for real in early August.
Ndombele provided an assist after just two minutes in his first pre-season game against Juventus at the weekend, sending supporters into overdrive.
His performance against United just slows the hype train down slightly, and will ensure there should be no unrealistic expectations when the season starts.
Ndombele is worth his club record fee, but he is only 22, coming to a new league, playing new opposition and under a new manager and teammates.
It would be abnormal if there was no adjustment period.
The friendly game was a perfect warm up for Ndombele yesterday, and he will be better for it, so will Tottenham.
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