According to a recent report by Spanish news source Sport, Tottenham Hotspur’s box-to-box midfield starlet Tanguy Ndombele’s preferred landing spot in the event of a Spurs exit is FC Barcelona. The report suggests that the Catalan side have been following the Frenchman’s progress since his time in Ligue 1 and that they view him as a good talent, owing largely to the fact that his scope for development has always been quite high.
The former Lyon star has a problematic relationship with manager Jose Mourinho as has been clarified by French outlet L’Equipe (as cited by Sport), and that he is keeping his options open in terms of a possible move away.
It has further been suggested that the 23-year-old is currently contracted to the North London club until the end of the 2024/25 league season, meaning that prizing him away from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium could become quite the task for any potential suitors.
What Would Ndombele Add To This Barcelona Midfield?
The Frenchman was one of the highest-rated young midfielders in the continent long before he went on to join Spurs, and it’s safe to say that the former Lyon man is yet to really announce himself to the Premier League. What is known though is that he tends to be excellent dribbler of the ball in the middle of the park. Capable of using his upper body strength effectively to shield the ball, the playmaker has the intelligence required to find the right passes in the final third of the pitch.
Despite being a holding midfielder by position, Ndombele isn’t afraid to get forward and provide support in attack. Still, it must be conceded that his primary reflex is to link up play in the midfield area. Often seen positioned just in front of the centre-halves, the Frenchman is an excellent passer of the ball, while he also has the quality required to play those long diagonal balls into space. For all the variety the former Lyon man does possess, there’s no denying that he’s unlikely to fit into Jose Mourinho’s pragmatic system at Spurs.
Why Barcelona Needn’t Go For Ndombele In The Summer?
Classified as a defensive-midfielder, the Frenchman isn’t afraid to get forward and join in with the attacks. A prime example of this is the goal that he scored for Spurs on his debut against Aston Villa. A brilliant 25-yard curler tied the game up for Spurs, in a goal that what was received by fans as a massive step in the right direction, but unfortunately for them, it didn’t last very long. With names like Arthur, Frenkie De Jong and Sergio Busquets available for Barcelona, the amount of playing time the Spurs man would get will be limited, to say the least.
What this means is that consistency was always going to be a problem for the 23-year-old, who undoubtedly still has a lot of development to do. While the stories of players who’ve come to the Camp Nou and achieved greatness are aplenty, the fact remains that Ndombele is still a highly unpolished gem. The best thing for the Catalan side to do at this point would be to simply keep an eye on his development at Spurs, and possibly earmark the Frenchman as a potential signing in the years to come.
