As you’ll probably be aware, Tottenham midfielder Tanguy Ndombele hasn’t had the best of starts to life on loan at Napoli.
The Frenchman joined the Italian club in the summer, with Tottenham keen to get rid of him once again following a loan spell at former club Lyon at the end of last season.
The hope is that he can reinvent himself in Serie A, with the loan deal including a purchase clause of €25m at the end of the season.
So far Ndombele has struggled to establish himself, but this week saw something of an upturn as he managed his first Champions League goal in the 3-0 win over Rangers at Ibrox.
That came as something of a surprise to those in Naples and Corriere Dello Sport cover that today.
They say the midfielder was the ‘real surprise’ of the victory having ‘made the most’ of the seven minutes he was afforded.
According to them he arrived from Tottenham ‘in poor condition’, hence his less than pleasing showings so far.
He hadn’t scored in the Champions League since November 2018 when he was still at Lyon, but this goal could be the ‘starting point of his new life’.
While snatching a place from the current options won’t be easy for the Tottenham loanee, his ability to play as a mezzala in a three-man midfield gives him an advantage over the competition
“If Ndombele makes himself available like that, he gives us great support. In Glasgow he won important confrontations and also scored goals. These are positive signs,” Napoli manager Luciano Spalletti stated after the game.
Those positive signs were also picked up on in the media, who believe that goal against Rangers may provide the impetus Ndombele needs to kickstart his career.
