On the latest episode of the Last Word on Spurs podcast, Ricky Sacks, Jamie Brown, Richard Whitehead and James Dickens have been discussing the latest goings-on at the North London club, looking back on the 3-0 win against Leicester City last weekend.
One topic of conversation on the recent episode, which was titled: ‘Clinical Kane‘ was Spurs midfielder Tanguy Ndombele. The Frenchman has made just two substitute appearances since the Premier League restart and was ruled out of the remaining fixtures after picking up an injury in training (per Evening Standard).
The 23-year-old joined Spurs for a club-record fee last summer but has endured a nightmare debut season in the Premier League, with fitness and injury issues plaguing him throughout the season.
Here’s what Dickens had to say about the former Lyon man and his future with Spurs on the podcast, criticising Jose Mourinho’s record of handling big-name players in the past:
“He has got rid of De Bruyne and Lukaku and Salah, and he didn’t like Pogba. He didn’t seem to like Martial and Rashford too much.
“Obviously, we’ve got Ndombele, who we all want to see playing, but the way this system is playing and wanting players who he knows what they’re going to do, there’s no way he’s ever going to fit in this team. It seems like a shame.”
TIF Thoughts…
It has been suggested that the potential signing of Southampton midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg could free up Ndombele in this Spurs side, so it will be interesting to see if the Danish international is brought in this summer and whether that has a direct impact on Ndombele’s playing time.
Do you think Ndombele can fit into the way Mourinho wants to play?
Yes
No
Certainly, the fact that the 23-year-old has managed to last 90 minutes on just three occasions in the Premier League this season suggests that he needs to sort out his fitness, but it would perhaps be a surprise to see Spurs give up on the man they spent so much on last summer so soon, even if, as Dickens suggests, he doesn’t fit into the way Mourinho wants to play.