Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou is now ready to give Spurs outcast Tanguy Ndombele a lifeline, according to reports out of France.
Who is leaving Spurs?
The arrivals of goakeeper Guglielmo Vicario (£17.2m), playmaker James Maddison (£40m) and winger Manor Solomon on a free transfer have opened the door for certain players to leave Spurs.
Long-serving number one shot-stopper Hugo Lloris, after 11 years with the club, has openly admitted he could depart this summer and Vicario’s signing from Empoli will only push him further towards the exit door.
Speaking to Nice-Matin, the 36-year-old hinted that it is time for a fresh challenge and says that this could be the end an era for him at Tottenham.
“We have reached an important moment, whether it be for the club or me,” said Lloris
“It’s the end of an era. I have a desire for something else. I will carefully study what is possible. However, I haven’t forgotten that I have a year left on my contract at Tottenham, and in football, it’s always hard to predict what will happen.”
Meanwhile, with Tottenham chasing a few more signings, namely at centre-back, there are many other names who have been linked with departures to free up space in Postecoglou’s squad.
Ivan Perisic, Davinson Sanchez, Ryan Sessegnon, Eric Dier, Ben Davies, Giovani Lo Celso, Sergio Reguilon, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Ndombele are the players in question (The Telegraph), while Bayern Munich are also chasing a deal for star striker Harry Kane.
Ndombele in particular is a curious case. Once Tottenham’s club record signing, the Frenchman has previously been outcasted by former Spurs bosses Nuno Espirito Santo and Antonio Conte.
The midfielder spent last season on loan at Napoli, and while the Serie A title-winners didn’t take up an option to sign him permanently, they were willing to pay around £17 million for him.
That is according to French newspaper L’Equipe, via Sport Witness, who say Rudi Garcia’s side wanted to fork out that amount for Ndombele, but it won’t be accepted by Spurs.
Postecoglou is a long-time admirer of the former Lyon star, and the Australian intends to hand him a lifeline to resurrect his career at Tottenham.
This is dependent on his performances in pre-season though, and if Ndombele doesn’t do enough to impress Tottenham’s new manager, there is interest from Saudi Arabia and potential opportunities abroad.
To be fair, the player has plenty of talent. Indeed, some old footage of the player in training has recently resurfaced on social media – via SpursReports – which shows just how much potential he has to be a special player if Postecoglou can get the best out of him.
What’s been said about Tanguy Ndombele?
The 26-year-old has been praised in parts for some flashes of form at Spurs, though they are few and far between, with former manager Jose Mourinho once calling him “magnificent” for a brief turnaround in 2020/2021.
“It’s a great example that with me the door is always open,” said Mourinho.
“The door of the team is always open, and when a player is not playing he has to try to understand why and he has to try to understand how can he walk through that door. He understood, he understood.
“The goal is amazing, but I don’t care about the goal, I care about the performance and the performance was magnificent and I’m really pleased that he’s come to this level. He’s playing very, very well.”
