Mauricio Pochettino has told Daniel Levy that Lyon midfielder Tanguy Ndombele is “precisely the type of player” that he wants to Tottenham to sign this summer, according to the Guardian.
The newspaper claims that Spurs have entered talks to sign the 22-year-old France international but are currently far away from meeting Lyon’s valuation.
It is understood that the Ligue 1 side want £66.6million for Ndombele while Spurs believe that he is worth £44.4million.
The Guardian adds that Manchester City, Juventus and Real Madrid are also interested in the former Amiens central midfielder.
OPINION
Ndombele is just about the best central midfielder that Tottenham can sign this summer. He is young, powerful, pacey, good on the ball and just as good off the ball. Spurs need to replace Mousa Dembele, who was sold in January, and Ndombele is about as close as Pochettino is going to come to finding that replacement. If anything, Ndombele could end up being better than Dembele, which is why Levy needs to stop playing hardball and really push hard to strike a deal with Lyon this summer. Spurs’ central midfield options have not looked as great in the last 12 months with only Moussa Sissoko putting in consistently good performances last season. Ndombele is a major upgrade on his fellow France international though and is also much younger and would give Spurs the chance to make a decent profit on him in the future, if Levy is worried about the potential resale value of the 22-year-old.