Tottenham midfielder’s issues aren’t easy to pinpoint

Tanguy Ndombele, who endured a woeful first half away to Burnley yesterday, was criticized by Jose Mourinho indirectly in the gaffer’s post-game interview. 

It wasn’t Tanguy’s first indifferent outing since joining Spurs in the summer for about £65 million. The Frenchman was also lambasted for an apathetic display in his cameo against Wolves less than a week ago. His struggles go far deeper than two poor performance, with Ndombele falling astronomically below expectations since Jose Mourinho was appointed as Tottenham boss in November.

The 23-year-old scored against Aston Villa on his début for Spurs, bagging a smartly taken goal from outside the penalty area. He followed that up with a few more impressive performances before falling victim to the injury bug. In and out of the lineup ever since, Tanguy is constantly scrutinized by his new manager, who questions strongly the Frenchman’s resilience and resolve.

Whether lacking in fitness, guile or toughness, Tanguy has fallen down Mourinho’s pecking order faster than the world’s fastest eater ingests hot dogs. Foreign players struggling to adapt to the Premier League is nothing new, as many new additions to the top flight find life, and football, tough to assimilate to. Though it looked like Tanguy, based on his first few brilliant performances after arriving from Lyon, seamlessly made that life altering transition.

So what has happened to Ndombele since? The external pressure could have something to do with it. Everyone expects Ndombele to dominate the league. Not only because of his physical prowess and absurd athleticism, but also due to the fact that Spurs invested nearly three-quarters of a £100 million on him.

Mourinho is partially culpable for Ndombele’s recent malaise. The Portuguese gaffer has, since Day 1, been Ndombele’s harshest critic. He has blasted the Frenchman publicly for not being tough enough, strong enough or, in yesterday’s case, proficient or spirited enough.

When a player’s confidence is depleted like Ndombele’s is, I’m not sure the best recourse is to make him feel even worse. Some players react well to public denigration, while others clam up and fall farther from grace, eventually fading into the background as a mere afterthought.

I trust Mourinho knows Ndombele well enough to make decisions, regardless of how potentially risky, to elicit the best possible reaction from a player who is, of late, tragically underperforming for his new club.