The Last Word on Spurs podcast (March 2nd, 10:30) contributor Jonny Blain has slammed summer signing Tanguy Ndombele after his cameo performance against Wolves at the weekend.
What’s he said?
Ndombele did not start against Nuno Espirito Santo’s men as Spurs lost 3-2 at home.
He managed just 14 minutes off the bench and has not played the full 90 minutes for the club since December in the 2-2 draw with Norwich City. Ironically enough, he was then injured in the following game against Southampton.
It has been a recurring issue with Ndombele, who cost £53.8m in the summer, a fee that could rise to £62.8m; his fitness issues have left him finishing the 90 minutes just three times in the league, and two of those were in the first two games of the season.
Blain believes that his fitness woes have been such that he cannot be trusted to play in midfield under Jose Mourinho.
He said: “When he took over he thought (Eric) Dier was the man to play in that defensive midfield role. He loved Dier, he kept going on about Dier even when he wasn’t Spurs manager. Dier wasn’t up to it.
“He actually did alright today, but that’s because he wasn’t on the ball. He’s come in and he thought Dier was the man, Dier clearly wasn’t the man.
“Ndombele can’t be the man because he never plays. Winks is not a defensive midfielder, he’s not a tackler. He is what he is.
“If you spend £63m on a bloke who ran City off the ground in the Champions League twice, he comes in and gives you 15 minutes every week. That’s embarrassing.”
Spot on
Ndombele is an enigma.
He is clearly immensely talented and has the guile and poise to beat players at will and play exceptionally difficult passes at speed.
However, he is also becoming something of a running joke.
He has looked tired in all of his Spurs appearances and has, at times, even appeared to be overweight.
This is another recurring issue – he is said to have struggled with his size earlier in his career.
No clues whatsoever: Which seasons do these iconic Spurs images belong to?
Ndombele looks a long way off being the midfielder that Spurs need him to be and one has to wonder if he will be a trustworthy member of the squad next season.
A full pre-season could well do wonders for him but it is difficult to envisage him becoming a key player at this point because, as Blain says, “he never plays”.
It is a problem that Mourinho needs to solve.
Meanwhile, Spurs have seen one man for the first time in 85 days!