Despite the speculation surrounding his future, Tottenham Hotspur look set to give Tanguy Ndombele another chance to prove his worth with chairman Daniel Levy meeting with the midfielder and encouraging him to ‘fight’ for his place.
The club’s record signing, who arrived from Lyon last summer in a £55million deal, struggled in his first season in the Premier League and fell out of favour under Jose Mourinho, only playing three times after the restart.
There have been suggestions that he is unhappy at Spurs and would welcome a move, while the north London club are reportedly prepared to cash in if they receive a big offer and could even use the Frenchman as a makeweight in a deal for Inter’s Milan Skriniar.
Amazon Prime’s All or Nothing documentary has so far given precious little camera time to Spurs’ most expensive player, but that all changes in the ninth and final episode which airs on Monday (spoilers follow, obviously).
As well as interviewing Ndombele about his struggles, footage of a meeting between the midfielder, Spurs chairman Levy and player liaison officer Roberto Balbontin is also shown in which the 23-year-old is urged to draw a line under his frustrating first season.
Levy explains to his record signing that many players have struggled in their maiden campaign in the Premier League and Ndombele’s experiences are entirely normal, encouraging him to fight for his place and not give up on his Spurs career.
‘We the club, and the manager, we both believe he has the talent. He has to unlock it. Only he can turn that around,’ says Levy.
Ndombele is also interviewed alongside Serge Aurier and Moussa Sissoko, who has taken his younger compatriot under his wing, and the midfielder gives an insight into the struggles he has encountered.
‘What can I say? It’s been complicated, I was injured a lot. It’s been a season of adaptation. But it’s been OK, you guys [Sissoko and Aurier] have been there to help me.’
Asked why it’s been so difficult to settle, he continued: ‘It’s complicated when you change country. I left France and I left my family to come here.
‘Then it’s not easy when you change environment. The training, it’s a change in intensity, and even in matches. You have to adapt to a new life and it hasn’t been easy so far but that’s how it is.’
Sissoko responds to him: ‘The manager is making some choices and we need to accept that, even if sometimes it’s painful. But Tanguy will bring us to the Champions League next year!’
The final three episodes of Tottenham Hotspur: All or Nothing, which air on Amazon Prime on Monday, also show the reaction of players and staff to Eric Dier confronting a fan in the stands after the FA Cup exit to Norwich as well the explosive confrontation between Hugo Lloris and Son Heung-min which continued in the dressing room.
