Gini not involved in possible Ndombele loan deal, and that’s a good thing

The latest negotiations with PSG regarding Tanguy Ndombele’s possible loan deal don’t include Gini Wijnaldum, good news for Tottenham Hotspur. 

Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against Wijnaldum, other than his former affiliation with the Reds. All joking aside, isn’t it time for Spurs to aim higher than settling for a 31-year-old who is past his prime?

The Dutchman was an instrumental component of Liverpool’s 2019 Champions League winning team. While he still has a lot to give, Tottenham’s time to pluck elite players in their prime is long overdue.

Spurs have one of the best managers in the world pulling the strings. They have a £1 billion stadium, one of the Premier League’s best training facilities and a sporting director with an absolute wealth of winning pedigree. Yet we’re still satisfied with a player like Wijnaldum.

Do you reckon Manchester United would be interested in signing the 31-year-old Dutchman?

Wijnaldum has made it clear that he wants to stay at PSG, tantamount to saying he doesn’t want to come to Tottenham. Maybe Tottenham should reciprocate those feelings.

Surely the time has come for Spurs to have ambitions of securing only the most elite footballers.

Unfortunately Daniel Levy and the rest of ENIC have made it impossible to do so. Their unwillingness to invest big money in top talent has for years plagued the club. Not only that, but Tottenham’s tight wage structure acts as a massive deterrent to any talent even remotely considering a move to north London.

And therein lies the main issue. Supporters have been forced to be thankful, even grateful, when once-excellent players who are past their prime, like Wijnaldum, decide to give Tottenham a go.

Spurs seemingly never acquire the Wijnaldum’s of the world when they’re in their prime, mostly because of the aforementioned short-sightedness of the current ownership group. That short-sightedness correlates directly to Tottenham’s on-pitch product. The Lilywhites haven’t won a trophy in almost 14 years because of ENIC’s maddening and deeply flawed strategy.

And what elite footballer wants to play for a club who doesn’t pay their players market value, what they deserve, isn’t competing on Europe’s premier stage and doesn’t challenge for domestic trophies?

It’s precisely why we’re still thankful when a player of Wijnaldum’s once-imposing stature decides to sign on the dotted line three years too late.

We all know who’s at fault. And we want it to stop.

Until it does, more past-their-prime players will almost certainly make Tottenham one of their final pitstops before permanently hanging up their boots.