Tanguy Ndombele's time at Tottenham has been a rollercoaster. When the midfielder made the move to Spurs in 2019, he was thought to be one of the best young prospects in Europe, signing for a club record fee rising to £63million.
There is no doubting the ability the French international has and the quality he can show on the ball. However, last season was a clear indication that things weren't quite going so well for Ndombele.
The 25-year-old wasn't handed many opportunities when Antonio Conte arrived in N17 and Ndombele struggled to get regular game time in the Italian's side. His final match in a Tottenham shirt was Spurs' FA Cup game against Morecambe.
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The French international was substituted off in the 69th minute, when he side were 1-0 down. Ndombele proceeded to slowly walk off the pitch, which meant he left in a stadium full of boos, with Spurs fans expressing their frustration.
After that the midfielder trained away from the Tottenham squad, which was described as 'specialised conditioning treatment' and then he returned to his former side Lyon at the end of January, for a short loan spell. He made 11 Ligue 1 appearances for Lyon, registering two assists for the French side who finished the season in eighth.
It was not the successful loan move that Ndombele would have hoped for and as he returned to Hotspur Way on Monday, there are some big decisions for him to make. The French international struggled to fit into Conte's regular XI before his loan and with plenty of work with the Spurs squad to do and new arrivals welcomed in, Ndombele will have an even more difficult job trying to slot back in now.
In an interview with Media Carre on Instagram on Tuesday, Ndombele was asked how he felt his loan move went. "It’s complicated, mitigated," he admitted, via Sport Witness.
"Four months go by very, very quickly. I don’t regret it, even if we struggled." Ndombele went on to explain the hardest part of his spell abroad. "The most difficult thing to digest was getting eliminated by West Ham [in the Europa League], but that’s part of the life of a footballer, there’s a need to know how to get back up when things don’t go well."
The 25-year-old was spotted on Monday working in the gym during the sports science tests at Hotspur Way, with Harry Winks, Pape Matar Sarr and Brandon Austin. There will be some big decisions for both Ndombele and Tottenham to make, regarding where the midfielder's future lies and he gave his verdict on whether he can be happy in north London.
"Yes, I think it’s possible to be happy at Tottenham. Regardless of where you can go, you can be happy or unhappy. We’ll see how things go during pre-season. I’m not putting any more pressure on myself than that," he admitted.
Ndombele may feel he wants and needs to assess his situation, now that he has returned to N17 and perhaps see what opportunities he is given, if any, during the pre-season matches. In his recent interview, the Frenchman was also asked what he wanted this summer.
"I think that question… (laughs) is rather complicated and personal at the same time, but what I want is to be happy, take pleasure in what I do, play, win, that’s all I want," he said. There is clearly lots to still be discussed and weighed up, before a decision is made regarding Ndombele's future.
However if Conte doesn't see the 25-year-old in his plans for next season and Ndombele believes he could be given more game time elsewhere, it may be best for both parties if the French international moved on permanently.
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