Jose Mourinho has heaped praise on Tanguy Ndombele and told Football London that he is ‘happy’ with what the Tottenham midfielder is producing on the pitch.
But the outspoken Spurs boss did also share that the Frenchman can still be ‘fitter’ and he can still be ‘better than he is’ because his ‘potential is huge’.
At the start of the year, Ndombele’s career in North London was hitting a dead end before he could even seemingly see the light in the tunnel because of Mourinho’s quite brutal criticism.
But the manner in which the 23-year-old has turnaround his career has to be applauded, as Mourinho shared his thoughts on the player.
“At this moment, I’m happy,” said Mourinho. “I still think he can do better. His potential is huge. So is he doing well? Yes. Am I happy with him? Yes.
“I’m happy with him, but I still think that he can do more. He can be fitter. He can give us 90 minutes without problems. He can be better than he is.
“Of course, he’s happy because he’s playing, I’m happy because he’s doing important things. I see the future probably better because as I was saying his potential is great, but I have to try to educate players, I have to try to give my best.”
From his performances during the Europa League qualifiers to his performance against West Ham, it has been a strong start to the season from Ndombele.
It’s now a case of him taking his game to the high levels many think he can and continue to add that bite and drive which has been previously been missing from Tottenham’s midfield.
Added with Ndombele, his manager also deserves praise for the manner in which he is getting the best out of him because his forthright man-management does get criticised quite a lot in today’s game.
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