Unable to get along with José Mourinho (at least at first), Tanguy Ndombélé didn’t have much more luck with Antonio Conte when the Italian arrived at Tottenham.
Always asking 150% from his players, the Spurs manager quickly made it clear the Frenchman wasn’t part of his plans in north London, and a loan was then organised to send him back to Lyon for the rest of the season.
A laughably large option to buy was attached to the loan deal, which is extremely unlikely to be triggered, meaning the player is expected to return to Tottenham once the season ends, with a permanent transfer expected to take place in the summer.
One of the reasons why Lyon was chosen was because it was a club Ndombélé knows well, meaning he should have found his old form rather quickly surrounded by some of his former teammates.
However, the opposite appears to have happened, as the midfielder continues to struggle to have the desired impact, with his latest performance against Angers drawing some strong criticism from journalist Walid Acherchour.
Speaking to RMC, relayed by Foot Radio, he made it clear there was one man in particular who disappointed in the 3-2 win.
He said: “Since the start, we haven’t had the impression of seeing players preparing to react to the intensity of a European game. The 3-2 against Angers is a happy result, because at the end of the match, when the ball was lost, we saw players looking at each other. There are really lazy people in this team.
“I’m talking in particular about Tanguy Ndombélé, especially because he’s a player that I appreciate, and one that I have always defended, but this match against Angers, without the ball, it’s not possible to see that.”
