Barcelona are reportedly monitoring Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Tanguy Ndombele with a summer move in the works.
Speaking on the Here We Go Podcast, reputed journalist Fabrizio Romano has claimed that La Liga heavyweights are weighing up a swoop for Tottenham star Tanguy Ndombele in the summer next year.
The 23-year-old burst onto the scenes as a marauding central midfielder at Ligue 1 outfit Olympique Lyon. After a couple of strong campaigns in France, Ndombele was snapped up by Tottenham in the summer last year, in a club-record £55 million deal.
Injuries and poor form hampered the French international in his first campaign with the North Londoners, however. Things only got worse for Ndombele upon Jose Mourinho’s arrival at Tottenham, with the midfielder hardly getting a look-in into the side in the latter half of the campaign.
This led to speculations that all was not well between the pair and Tottenham would look to offload Ndombele in the summer. The midfielder himself recently admitted that he considered leaving the club only to be convinced by chairman Daniel Levy to stay put.
Having stayed at Tottenham, Ndomblele has slowly managed to turn things around, showing glimpses of his quality that made the Lilywhites splash the cash on him last year. So far, the 23-year-old has featured in ten matches across all competitions, scoring two goals in the process and looks a much better player than he did in his debut season.
Ndombele’s resurgence seemingly hasn’t gone unnoticed with Barcelona now planning a swoop for the Frenchman. The Catalans had been linked with a move for the midfielder this past summer as well, but they did not act on their reported interest. However, that could be set to change next summer, if Fabrizio Romano is to be believed.
“Barcelona are considering a move for Ndombele next summer. But for next January, Tottenham fans can be sure he is not going anywhere,” he said, speaking on the podcast.
The Blaugrana already have a well-stacked central midfield department with the likes of Frenkie de Jong, Sergio Busquets, Miralem Pjanic along with young guns like Carles Alena and Riqui Puig, as well as summer signing Matheus Fernandes.
However, it must be noted that Fernandes has been largely playing with the B team, while the likes of Alena and Puig don’t seem to be too high on manager Ronald Koeman’s preferred list of players, with chances not forthcoming. In addition, Barcelona lack a player of Ndombele’s qualities in the midfield department, who can add more energy and dynamism in the centre.
But, considering that Ndombele has turned over a new leaf at Tottenham, the Lilywhites will certainly be reluctant to let him go if he continues in the same vein of form. It will be interesting to see if Barcelona decide to launch an attempt to sign the Frenchman next year.
