Tottenham: Tanguy Ndombele is going nowhere until he proves otherwise

Tanguy Ndombele is only playing for one team next season, Tottenham Hotspur

Barcelona is the name that keeps popping up, occasionally PSG, and even Bayern have supposedly been linked with Tanguy Ndombele and a move away from N17 at seasons end. The reality is that isn’t possible. Barring a miraculous end to the season that ups the midfielders value we all Know Daniel Levy isn’t going to sell him at a loss – as Transfer Market has his value over $10 million less than we paid for him just last summer.

If Daniel Levy was not going to take a loss on a much less talented and much more then-maligned record-signing midfielder in Moussa Sissoko, he certainly is not about to settle for anything south of the $66 million he paid Lyon.

But Sissoko is a good name to remember, because if we all think back a year into his tenure no one outside of the staff thought much of him and he seemed another wasted panic buy. Fast-forward to today and his return from injury was arguably as important as that of either Harry Kane or Heung-Min Son, given the versatility that French midfielder brings to the game.

Tottenham is the place to be for Tanguy Ndombele

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This brings us back to our new seemingly misfit/outcast French midfielder. He signed plenty early and had training camp and in fact broke in with a terrific start providing soft passes and blistering finishes.

Then something happened as his body didn’t seem to adapt to the Premier League as well as his game did and he began to miss time and be unable to complete games. Add in a change in manager and the recipe is there for a tough end.

In many ways this situation reminds of yet another record-signing midfielder for Spurs, Paulinho. While Lamela came in late in the summer and eclipsed his transfer fee, for a brief period the Brazilian midfielder was Tottenham Hotspur’s most expensive player.

And for a brief while, he seemed to prove it. In his first season with the club, Paulinho chipped in with 8 goals and 2 assists in all competitions. However, late in the year he first picked up a red card in league and then followed that up seriously damaging his ankle stomping on the ball.

A coaching change later and the Brazilian was on the outside looking in of the start of the Pochettino era and he was sold to China. Funny part of Paulinho’s story is then he was loaned to of all clubs Barcelona. FC Barcelona as a transfer option brings us back full circle to Ndombele and the rumors.

The one thing we know is Tanguy Ndombele is not going anywhere, yet. The question is in year 2 will he win the hearts and minds of the fans and club like Moussa Sissoko and become a mainstay or will he not make the cut and be sold to the highest bidder outside England like Paulinho. Ultimately the choice is only one persons to make – Tanguy Ndombele’s – because we know he has the talent like Paulinho, we just don’t know if he has the drive like Sissoko. I am hoping that is one thing the Frenchmen have in common and next year he becomes the fan-favorite Spurs need him to be.