It was reported in The Mirror this week that Spanish heavyweights, Barcelona, are interested in signing Tottenham’s record signing, Tanguy Ndombele, in the summer.
Ndombele only arrived in North London in 2019, but is already said to be open to an exit due to an apparent poor relationship with Spurs head coach, Jose Mourinho.
Unfortunately, despite some positive initial performances under Pochettino, Ndombele’s first Spurs season has been defined by a lack of fitness and persistent injuries.
Jose Mourinho even felt the need to publically call Ndombele out after his performance against Burnley in the Premier League, a game in which he was removed after just 45 minutes.
Emmanual Petit has now claimed that Ndombele has great potential, but has always had issues in terms of effort and consistency.
The former France international believes that Ndombele looks a little overweight and his body language does not help him. He also added that he could not believe the midfielder had been linked with Barcelona.
Petit said (Sun): “He received the same criticisms at Lyon.
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“We all know the potential of Ndombele. I like this type of player and I used to watch him in France.
“He was not regularly a top player. Sometimes he could play a beautiful game — then three days later be average.
“He is not consistent enough. He doesn’t play well with any regularity.
“He has quality but I agree with Mourinho in that Ndombele could do much more.
“When he is very motivated, fit and ready, with his mind and body, and when he has the ambition to perform well, he becomes a top player.
“This is a new country, a new culture and new football for him. A new way of playing with new physical and mental demands.
“He used to play with huge pressure at Lyon but he was protected. He has a lot of qualities right for French football but sometimes he used to rest on those types of things.
“You cannot do that in England. If he wants to be a top player he needs to perform well every game.
“Every player has the right to a bad game now and then. But you don’t have the right not to give 100 per cent.”
“When you move to a new country you must make an effort to adapt.
“You cannot be a foreign player not speaking the same language because communication in the dressing room and on the pitch is so important.
“When he wakes up every morning he needs to ask the same question, ‘Am I doing the best I can?’
“It is hard to be a top player and you have to sacrifice everything to get there. You cannot lie to yourself.
“Is he overweight? He looks a little bit. But his body language does not help him. He needs to improve physically.
“When I see him I think ‘Come on, you can do more than that’.”
On the link to Barcelona, Petit added: “When I saw that I couldn’t believe it.”
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