Tanguy Ndombele to Tottenham: All you need to know about the £65m Lyon midfielder
Tottenham have agreed a club-record deal worth around £65m for Lyon midfielder Tanguy Ndombele, according to Sky Sports News, but what do we know about him?
The 22-year-old French international, who has been described as the „new Michael Essien“ and enjoyed an impressive campaign with Lyon, will sign a five-year contract at Spurs and undergo a medical in the next few days.
But what would Ndombele bring to Tottenham and where would he fit best in Mauricio Pochettino’s side? We take a look…
What’s his background?
Considering he was reportedly turned down by several clubs as a youngster for being overweight, Ndombele’s rise over the last few years has been rapid.
In 2015/16 he was playing in France’s fifth tier with Amiens reserve team. The following season he helped Amiens earn promotion into Ligue 1, then he moved to Lyon on an initial loan move at the start of the 2017/18 season.
The deal included an option to buy for eight million euros, which proved to be shrewd business from Lyon after an impressive debut season in the top flight.
What’s his position?
Ndombele is a box-to-box midfielder who is powerful, forward-thinking and athletic.
His arrival at Lyon came in the same summer that Corentin Tolisso left for Bayern Munich. When he was presented as a Lyon player, Ndombele was asked about comparisons with Tolisso.
„We can have similar profiles,“ he said. „I also like [Gianni] Imbula [former Stoke and Porto midfielder], but I do not have a particular model.“
Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas described him as the „new Essien“.
After his Lyon debut against Paris Saint-Germain, L’Equipe rated him 8/10 and gave him their man-of-the-match award, even though Lyon lost 2-0. „Ndombele, the phenomenon of Lyon,“ they wrote.
Ndombele started 28 Ligue 1 games in his first season with Lyon and that number rose to 31 in 2018/19. He was one of the standout performers as Lyon beat Manchester City in the Champions League and then drew in the reverse fixture, earning the Sky Sports man-of-the-match award in the 2-2 draw.
He scored twice during Lyon’s Champions League campaign and also netted once in Ligue 1, providing seven assists – the same number as playmaker Nabil Fekir.
His displays against City showed his positive mindset as several times he turned away from trouble in midfield and then played a forward pass. He also carried the ball well and set up two clear chances at the Etihad with incisive passes through the defence.
„Lyon really has a very good team. There are young people full of quality and I think the team is in place tactically…They’re one of the toughest teams I have ever faced,“ said City boss Pep Guardiola after the 2-2 draw in France.
Ndombele’s former Amiens coach Christophe Pellissier sums up his qualities well: „He is very good with the ball, dazzles with his shot, breaks lines with the ball at his foot, his technical quality allows him to play more advanced, while his intelligence allows him to adopt a more defensive role.“
If he sounds impressive already, it’s worth remembering that he is only 22 so there is plenty of room for improvement.
Where can he improve?
Bruno Genesio, Lyon’s head coach up until the end of last season, has described Ndombele as „thoughtful and intelligent“ and „providing balance“ to the team.
Genesio also said earlier this season that the midfielder needs to work on his finishing.
„He has to go one last step in finishing, the only thing he needs to become a great player. He lacks some concentration in the final third but he has the technical quality to do it.“
Ndombele’s late winner in Lyon’s 3-2 win over Nimes on the final day of last season was his first in 65 Ligue 1 appearances, showing the room for improvement in that regard, but his assists total underlines his creative ability. He also ranked third among Lyon players for key passes, with 47.
What’s his international status?
Ndombele was called up to the France squad for the first time in October, replacing Tolisso in the squad – the same player who he replaced at Lyon.
He came on as a substitute in matches against Iceland and Germany but earned his first start later in the year against Uruguay.
France head coach Didier Deschamps said: „He knows how to do everything in the middle, he is powerful, technical.“
Speaking before his call-up, Genesio had said that Ndombele has „international quality“ and added: „Tanguy understands the demands of the highest level and gives himself the means to reach it.“
Where would he fit in at Spurs?
Ndombele would slot straight into central midfield at Tottenham, an area in which Pochettino’s side have lacked depth since Mousa Dembele’s departure to Chinese side Guanzhou R&G in January.
The 22-year-old could play at the base of the 4-2-3-1 formation commonly used by Pochettino, but he is also comfortable playing in other midfield roles and in other systems. That versatility was apparent at Lyon last season, with Genesio using eight different formations in Ligue 1.
Ndombele is tactically intelligent and, interestingly, he is also a similar kind of player to Dembele, who Pochettino once described as a „genius“. Like the Belgian, Ndombele is an accomplished dribbler who is excellent at retaining possession and carrying the ball forward. Last season at Lyon, only Bertrand Traore averaged more successful dribbles per 90 minutes.
Ndombele’s dribbling ability should add penetration and unpredictability to Tottenham’s midfield. It’s just one of the reasons why they are willing to shatter their transfer record in order to bring him in.
Soccer Accumulator Bonus
Our fantastic Euro Soccer accumulator offer gives you the chance to earn a bonus of up to 100% on accumulators on the top domestic leagues in Europe along with the group and knockout stages of the Champions League.
This offer applies to returns on pre-match accumulators of 3 or more selections on Full Time Result or Result/Both Teams To Score markets for the English Premier League, Italian Serie A, Spanish Primera Liga, German Bundesliga 1 or UEFA Champions League.
The maximum bonus that you can receive is ˆ100,000 or currency equivalent. The bonus will not apply where a stake has been fully Cashed Out. Where a stake has been partially Cashed Out, the bonus will be calculated based .on the remaining active stake. If a qualifying bet is edited .using our Edit Bet feature. The bonus will be calculated based on the new stake. Where a bet has been edited to include or amend a selection for an event that is In-Play, the bonus will no longer apply. Double Chance bets or combination bets with bonuses. Such as Lucky 15’s or Lucky .31’s do not apply for this offer.
If your bet is successful, we will add the following bonuses to your returns:
Bet Type Bonus
14-folds and upwards 100% bonus
Terms and Conditions
Applies to straight pre-match accumulator bets on the Full Time Result or Result/Both Teams To Score markets for UEFA Champions League, English Premier League, Italian Serie A, Spanish Primera Liga, German Bundesliga .1 or Australian A-League matches. Maximum bonus ˆ100,000 or currency equivalent. Soccer Accumulator Bonus does not apply to Double Chance bets or combination. bets with bonuses such as Lucky 15’s, Lucky 31’s etc.
If any selections are postponed/void then the bonus will still apply, but the percentage bonus added will reflect the actual number of winning selections. For example, an 8-fold accumulator with 7. winners and 1 postponed match will receive a 30% .bonus to returns.
The bonus part of your returns will be added to your account within 24 hours of your final selection having played.
This bonus will not apply where a stake has been fully Cashed Out. Where a stake has been partially Cashed Out, the bonus will be calculated based on the remaining active stake.
If a qualifying bet is edited using our Edit Bet feature, the bonus will be calculated based on the new stake. Where a bet has been edited to include or amend a selection for an event that is In-Play, the bonus will no longer apply.
Where any term of the offer or promotion is breached or there is any evidence of a series of bets placed by a customer or group of customers, which due to a deposit bonus, enhanced payments, free bets, risk free bets or any other promotional offer results in guaranteed customer profits irrespective of the outcome, whether individually or as part of a group, bet365 reserves the right to reclaim the bonus element of such offers and in their absolute discretion either settle bets at the correct odds, void the free and risk free. bets or void any bet funded by the deposit bonus.
In addition bet365 .reserve the right to levy an administration charge on the customer up to the value of the deposit bonus, free bet, risk free bet or additional payment to cover administrative costs. We further reserve the right to ask any customer to provide sufficient documentation for us to be satisfied in our absolute discretion as to the customer’s identity prior to us crediting any bonus, free bet, risk free bet or offer to their account.
All bet365 offers are intended for recreational players and bet365 may in its sole discretion limit the eligibility of customers to participate in all or part of any promotion.
.
