Tottenham have reportedly entered the race for Lyon midfielder Tanguy Ndombele, who is also attracting interest from Manchester City.
Tanguy Ndombele is the latest midfielder to be linked with Tottenham. According to The Mirror, Spurs have thrown their hat in the ring for the Lyon midfielder, who is also drawing interest from defending Premier League champions Manchester City.
21-year-old Ndombele has had a rapid rise within the French footballing scene. After a successful season-long loan at Amiens SC, the midfielder has managed to lock down a regular spot within the Lyon first-team setup. Ndombele has also shown his creative side on the field, with 4 assists in 9 Ligue 1 outings so far this season.
The midfield powerhouse is not new when it comes to rumours linking him to Premier League clubs. The summer saw Chelsea, Arsenal and others reportedly interested in the 21-year-old. Chelsea’s interest was mainly due to N’Golo Kante being linked with a potential move to PSG.
Ndombele is now supposedly drawing interest from Tottenham and Manchester City.
Manchester City have maintained interest in the 21-year-old since the summer. But, perhaps, their interest has heightened after Ndombele starred for Lyon in their shock Champions League victory over Manchester City. Pep Guardiola might earmark the midfielder as the perfect replacement for Fernandinho, who is likely to be phased out of the squad, with age catching up to him.
Tottenham on the other hand, are in genuine need of midfield additions, perhaps even in January. Mousa Dembele has been reported to be a target for the cash-rich Chinese Super League and has chosen not to extend his Spurs contract, which is up for expiry in the summer.
Apart from Dembele, Mauricio Pochettino has Victor Wanyama and Harry Winks as the only two other options, with Moussa Sissoko not really preferred by the manager. Their lack of summer spending has been chalked down as one of the major reasons of their slow start and Pochettino will be keen to correct it in the winter transfer window.
Ndombele could be explained as a hybrid of Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante. While the 21-year-old is adept at sweeping the loose balls and act as the enforcer in midfield, his penchant to drive forward and dribble is something that excites the onlookers.
The midfielder will not come cheap, though. For one, reports say Tottenham had a £40 million bid rejected for the 21-year-old in the summer, putting his valuation in excess of £55 million.
And if Tottenham, Manchester City or another one of his suitors intend to land the midfielder in January, they would have to serve Lyon with a premium as the French outfit would not be receptive to the idea of losing a starter in the middle of the season.
January or not, Ndombele does look like the next French midfield supremo destined for the Premier League. The destination, valuation and date of transfer is all left to be decided though.
