Nuno Espirito Santo gives cryptic verdict on Tanguy Ndombele’s Tottenham absence

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Manager Nuno Espirito Santo has caused yet more confusion in the Spurs camp by refusing to clarify Tanguy Ndombele’s absence from pre-season matches.

The Frenchman signed for Tottenham in July 2019 from Lyon for approximately £54m which makes him the club’s most expensive signing in history, which, of course, carries a lot of expectations.

The 24-year-old was signed by now-PSG boss Mauricio Pochettino but struggled to adapt to life in the Premier League, and that pattern continued when Jose Mourinho was appointed in November 2019 too.

Ndombele has made 54 appearances over the course of two seasons for Spurs, scoring five and assisting four, whilst failing to live up to the hype that surrounded his significant price tag.

However, boss Nuno has provided no clarity as to whether the France international will be given the opportunity to right his wrongs at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium next season.

In an interview with Football Daily, Nuno was asked why Ndombele had not featured at all in pre-season matches, to which he answered: “Because you can see that is not in the right moment to join the group in terms of competition.”

The Portuguese boss then confirmed that the midfielder has also not been absent due to injury and then denied claims that it was because Ndombele had failed to impress Nuno in training so far.

Should Nuno give Ndombele a chance next season? Comment below

He said: “It’s not about that, it’s about who we want to take.”

The message from the manager is an uncertain one; it could be interpreted that he feels Ndombele is not as good as his other midfielders available, or that tactically the no.20 does not fit Santo’s system.

Despite seeming an authoritative figure in the Spurs camp, Nuno still has a big task on his hands that will truly test his managerial patience: can he keep wantaway striker Harry Kane at the club?

Kane failed to arrive at Tottenham training on several occasions last week, which he loosely denied was an attempt to convince Daniel Levy to let him leave in a recent statement.

The 28-year-old has attracted the interest of Manchester City who are in search of a striker to help their attempts to win the Champions League.

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