Tanguy Ndombele, a young French midfielder who, quite literally, has all the talent in the world at his feet. From finding an inch-perfect pass anywhere on the pitch, to putting it through three defenders' legs and blasting one into the roof of the net. Ndombele can do it all. If this is the case, why is this even a topic of discussion? Why are Tottenham fans so split on whether 'La Feinte' should even be given the opportunity to prove himself under Ange Postecoglou? To put it simply, his attitude.
No one has ever doubted the talent, flair, skill that Ndombele contains, We've seen it first hand, an example being the rocket he scored on his Premier League debut against Aston Villa in 2019. That goal will feel like an age ago to Spurs fans now but we were sold a dream there and then. Despite the perfect debut, a goal in a 3-1 win and an impressive performance all round, Ndombele went on to have a lackluster season as Spurs found themselves under new management as Mauricio Pochettino's time at the club came to an end, quickly appointing 'The Special One', José Mourinho. In the season majority mannaged by Mourinho, Ndombele only went on to appear 29 times in all competitions, scoring 2 times and setting up a teammate 4 times, being subject to getting a label of 'unfit' and 'lazy'. In a season affected by Covid-19 drastically, Ndombele himself getting caught up in some lockdown breaches, Spurs fans were quick to label Ndombele a flop and believe Mourinho did not favour him whatsoever, we were wrong.
The following season looked a revelation for Tanguy, it seemed as though he had made strides in fixing his fitness issues and attitude problems. As he went on to be a star player for the Spurs side, playing 46 times in all competitions and racking up 10 goal contributions to go with it. Mourinho appeared to be getting the best out of Ndombele who was finally showing his value. So tell me why, 3 years, 3 managers and 3 caretaker managers later, Ndombele is on his last legs as a Spurs player?
Since his impressive 20/21 campaign, Ndombele has only appeared for Spurs 16 times and has been sent on two loans, half a season at Lyon in 2022 and the entirety of this past season at Napoli. As we briefly skip over Nuno Espirito Santo's time at the club, The Frenchman's fitness issues paid too much for 'serial winner' Antonio Conte's demanding and tiring training regime, finding him at the bottom of the barrel in terms of his plans.
In Tanguy Ndombele's most recent loan especially, he enjoyed a fairly successful campaign as Napoli won their first Serie A in over 30 years. Individually, the Frenchman definitely earned his place to be on the title winning side, albeit majoritively off the bench. Spurs however suffered their worst finishing position in over a decade, finishing 8th and failing to get Europe for the first time since the 11/12 campaign. Along with this, Antonio Conte was sacked and written off as yet another failure in getting Tottenham their first trophy since 2008.
This leads us to the present day. Ndombele's title winning loan has ended and Spurs find themselves under new management in the Ange Postecoglou. The Aussie is known for his generous and attacking style of football with midfielders playing a key part in doing so. This combined with it being reported that Ndombele has told Napoli he wants to return to Spurs (via Sebnonda), Daniel Levy and co are left in a predicament. Should we cash in and get maybe a third of what we paid for Tanguy if we're lucky, with only two years left on his contract. Or do we roll the dice and give this player with incredible talent a chance to shine for the Lilywhites again.
The Spurs chairman finds himself under immense pressure with the frustration from the Spurs fans at an all time high, so he will be very careful in ensuring he makes the right decision. It is difficult as this time last season we were looking to sell him for anything we possibly could, but no offer was given and he was therefore forced to go on a loan rather than a permanent move. But Spurs find themselves in a much different position than they have for the majority of the time Ndombele has been at the club. A manager who wants to play attacking football, this could be key in the decision to keep the French international.
This leads me to conclude... Should we keep the talented player with all the flair in the world, or sell the person who has proven to have fitness issues as well as attitude problems? My verdict is KEEP! Under the attacking football of Postecoglou, Ndombele really has the chance to finally suceed at Tottenham, and as long as he shows commitment in doing so, I believe we should roll the dice and give him the chance he needs.
Great article. I personally still wanna see Ndombele somehow make it at Spurs and maybe Ange is the guy to make it happen?
Defo keep Ndomballer