Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Tanguy Ndombele is ‘still determined to leave’ the club this summer following a breakdown in his relationship with manager Jose Mourinho, despite chairman Daniel Levy trying to convince him otherwise.
Spurs shattered their transfer record to sign Ndombele from Lyon last summer in a deal worth up to around £64.5m after add-ons. But the Frenchman has struggled to make the desired impact and has only featured sparingly since Mourinho replaced Mauricio Pochettino in November.
Having been publicly criticised by his manager in March when Spurs faced Burnley, Ndombele has only played 19 minutes of action since the Premier League season restarted.
“I’m not going to run away and I have to say [Ndombele] has had enough time to come to a different level,” Mourinho said at the time of the Burnley game.
“I know the Premier League is difficult, and some players take a long time to adapt to a different league. But a player with his potential has to give us more than he is giving us, especially when you see how Lucas [Moura], [Giovani] Lo Celso and those players are playing.”
It was reported in France late last month that a meeting between Ndombele and Mourinho resulted in the former telling the latter he no longer wishes to work for him.
The same night as that story was published when Ndombele was left unused in the Premier League win over West Ham, Mourinho denied a rift during the post-match media conference.
Despite Mourinho refuting there is a problem, the latest from L’Equipe suggests that Ndombele is keen to leave. They are not thought to have spoken for the last couple of weeks since communications broke down and it said talks have started with Daniel Levy.
The report, shared and translated by Get French Football News, explains that Levy thinks Ndombele can turn the situation around and become a key player for Spurs.
In light of this, the player still wants to go. However, the club hierarchy are not prepared to properly consider his future until after the Premier League season finishes on 26 July. It is said that Ndombele’s representatives have had contact with Barcelona, while Paris Saint-Germain are widely believed to be admirers of the 23-year-old.
Mourinho’s issue appears to be that he doesn’t think Ndombele is applying himself well enough, with the Portuguese’s high demands of his players clear in his recent conversely glowing comments about Argentine midfielder Giovani Lo Celso.
“When I arrived, I went in other directions and he did exactly what I love a player to do: ‘I’m going to show you’,” Mourinho said last week as he explained why he has been impressed by Lo Celso.
“[There were] no spoiled kid reactions, no crying, no moaning, no agents and family throwing messages to the press and to the social media. It was just between him and me: ‘I’m going to show you’, and he showed me step-by-step.”
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Source : 90min