Tanguy Ndombélé and Tottenham Hotspur brought their relationship to an end in the summer, with a mutually agreed termination of the Frenchman’s contract.
He’d arrived at Spurs in 2019 with big hopes attached, and whilst he certainly showed flashes of brilliance, he was unable to live up to the hype and maintain consistent form.
Similar happened with loan moves to Lyon, Napoli and then Galatasaray. The last of the three loans from Tottenham was perhaps the most difficult, with the Turkish media not shy in coming forward with their opinions.
Ndombélé was repeatedly portrayed as overweight, and there was even a move to name a burger after the midfielder. Staying in the Turkish Super Lig therefore wasn’t an option, and following the termination of his Tottenham contract, the 27-year-old signed a two year deal with Nice.
Things have been going a lot better back in France, and ahead of the Ligue 1 side’s Europa League match against Real Sociedad this evening, RMC have taken a look at the player’s change in fortunes.
Nice sporting director Florian Maurice has explained the player’s desire to prove people wrong was part of the attraction, with RMC quoting him as saying: “He has a vengeful side, that’s a bit what I went looking for. The opportunity was really interesting because we were losing Khéphren Thuram. We are rather satisfied today, the player also feels good in the club and the city. The first matches show that he has already reached a certain level but he is not yet at the level we hope.”
Club president Jean-Pierre Rivière added: “A player who has a lot of talent, you don’t lose that. We can sometimes have slightly more complicated seasons, sometimes linked to the context… But what is very interesting when a player wants to recover, is to arrive as early as possible to do real preparation.”
Finally, it was the turn of Nice manager Franck Haise, who said: “He is someone who needs, and he is not the only one, a climate of trust and that is what we try to bring him. But beyond the atmosphere around the club, it is first and foremost Tanguy who ensures that everything goes well.”
Still with plenty of career left, Tanguy Ndombélé is on his way to at least partially putting his Tottenham Hotspur difficulties behind him.