Speaking on a recent episode of the Here We Go podcast, Fabrizio Romano discussed the current situation of Tottenham Hotspur midfielder, Tanguy Ndombele, and the interest the 23-year-old generated over the summer transfer window.
After making his £54 million move to Spurs from Olympique Lyon in the summer of 2019, Ndombele struggled for regular first-team game time in his first season at the club, particularly following the appointment of Jose Mourinho as Tottenham manager last November, with the midfielder starting just five Premier League games under the 57-year-old in the 2019/20 Premier League season.
However, this season has been a rather different story for the £36 million-rated 23-year-old, as he has featured in all seven of Tottenham’s Premier League fixtures thus far, starting in five of these games, the same number he managed over 26 league matches managed by Mourinho last season.
The France international was one topic of conversation on a recent episode of the Here We Go podcast, in which Romano discussed the current happiness of Ndombele at Spurs, while also revealing that the midfielder attracted a significant amount of interest over the summer transfer window.
He said: “Ndombele had an interview this week and said, ‘I was seriously considering to move to Inter’. It’s true because he had a meeting [via] his agent with Inter. He was really close to joining Inter, but then everything happened with [Milan] Skriniar and they decided to not do this deal, this swap deal.
“Tottenham have totally changed their position with Ndombele. The player is not moving [in] January. He is so happy with Mourinho right now – he was in a complicated situation with Mourinho last season. Mourinho said, ‘OK, let’s sell this player.’ He was ready to get money to go for another midfielder, but Daniel Levy was the key.
“Daniel Levy always [said], ‘I want to keep this player. I don’t want to sell this player. I trust in this player. I spent €60 million to sign him’. So, that’s why we have to say congrats to Daniel Levy because he’s been perfect with Ndombele. He’s not moving.
“Also, Barcelona were interested in him. They were looking for a midfielder like [Georginio] Wijnaldum. They [are] also considering a move for Ndombele next summer, and [were also considering a move for him at] the start of [last] summer, [around] June [or] July. But, for next January, Tottenham fans can be sure that the player is not going anywhere.”
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TIF Thoughts on Fabrizio Romano’s comments regarding Tanguy Ndombele…
From Romano’s comments, it is clear that the journalist is of the opinion that, at present, Ndombele is very happy at Tottenham, and that the differences he and Mourinho had last season have now been forgotten about.
However, he goes on to reveal that Barcelona were interested in the 23-year-old last summer, and seems to suggest that the La Liga side could reignite their interest once again next summer, although, he appears to be confident that Ndombele will not be moving anywhere in the January transfer window.