Despite a rather mediocre start to the season, Tottenham have a couple of shining lights in their squad, which include Tanguy Ndombele.
The midfielder, who was bought for €60m from Lyon in the summer, has put in a number of good performances for the Premier League team, which have helped him consolidate his place in Didier Deschamps’ France national team squad.
Not exactly a goalscorer at Lyon with one goal in 69 games, Ndombele has been far more decisive for Tottenham since his arrival (two goals and one assist in six league games), but was unable to help his team avoid the 7-2 drubbing they suffered to Bayern Munich.
Speaking to Canal Plus in France in an interview published this weekend, he looked back at that result.
He said: “It’s something that’s hard to explain. It reminded me of a game last year (with Lyon) when we lost 5-0. It doesn’t reflect how the game went, but it’s the score at the end, and it’s a game that’s tough to swallow”.
The Tottenham man was also asked about the price tag that followed him to Spurs in the summer, but the young midfielder remains unfazed by it all.
That transfer came off the back of a crazy few years for Ndombele, who was still at Amiens just two seasons ago, and the player was asked if he felt satisfied with how things are going.
He said: “No, I’m not comfortable. I remain focused, I try and go forward all the while thinking you can quickly go backwards. Can I disappear from the world football radar? Yes, at least that’s how I look at things. Maybe in five years time, no one will be speaking about me, and there’s young talent coming out every year in football.
“Just look at Rennes now, the little Camavinga who’s 16. If he could take my spot in the France team? It’s possible, that’s why I say I have to stay focused. You never know in football. It’s just humility. You see people like Ronaldo and Messi with five Ballon d’Ors. They’re never satisfied. They want more. I’m now at Tottenham. I’m not allowed to be satisfied. I also want more”.
If he is ever going to be satisfied, Ndombele thinks it will be towards the back end of his career, but he’s made it very clear he wants to win trophies before he retires, as doing so without lifting a cup would lead to ‘regrets’.
We’ll have to see if that ever happens at Tottenham or if he’ll need to go elsewhere to achieve that dream, but one thing is certain: he’ll work hard regardless, learning from his mistakes of appearing too nonchalant in training and in his attitude in the past.
