‘He doesn’t care’: Rio Ferdinand claims Tottenham man playing like a ‘playground footballer’

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Rio Ferdinand told his official YouTube channel that Tanguy Ndombele is playing like a ‘playground footballer’ this season.

The 24-year-old joined Tottenham last summer for a club-record fee and was ready to lead the charge from the middle of the park for a team that needed picking up following their Champions League final defeat.

But, months into Ndombele’s career in North London, he was the one needing picking up after things just seemingly got worse as Jose Mourinho replaced Mauricio Pochettino in the dugout.

But sometimes it’s not about how you get knocked down, it’s about how you get back up, and as Ferdinand eluded to, the ball-carrying Frenchman is now proving his worth.

“Ndombele has been this season showing why such a big price-tag was behind his name,” said Ferdinand.

“His feet are beautiful. Playground footballer. The ball comes into him. One or two players are marking him and he doesn’t care. He’s got a little bit of a shimmy. He gets out of trouble all the time. He’s always looking to hurt teams.

“And he got a good goal [against Wolves].”

In Tottenham’s All or Nothing Amazon documentary, Ndombele’s early struggles were highlighted and how the likes of Mourinho and Daniel Levy wanted to bring the best out of the player.

Whilst Mourinho was ruthless in the manner in which he approached things, it worked and the rewards are there for all to see now.

The environment Ndombele surrounded himself in also helped because the likes of Moussa Sissoko and Serge Aurier played their part in the combative midfielder now becoming a key player for the club.