Mourinho asked whether Daniel Levy played a part in Tanguy Ndombele turnaround

Jose Mourinho has admitted that Daniel Levy played a role in helping Tanguy Ndombele turn around his fortunes at Tottenham but insisted that most of the credit should go to the midfielder himself.

Ndombele flattered to deceive in his first season at Tottenham and did not do anywhere near enough to justify his huge price tag.

The midfielder hardly got any minutes towards the end of last campaign and was being linked with an exit during the summer transfer window.

However, Tottenham decided to hang on to the 23-year-old and their decision has been vindicated as the former Lyon man has been one of the team’s best players so far this season.

Ndombele arguably put in his best individual display of the season as Tottenham overcame Sheffield United 3-1 on Sunday and he capped off the match with what was arguably the Goal of the Season so far.

Daniel Levy was seen having a meeting with Ndombele last season in Amazon Prime’s All or Nothing documentary and the Spurs chairman offered words of encouragement to the midfielder.

When asked whether Levy deserves credit for Ndombele’s turnaround, Mourinho told Football.London: “Is the players’ mentality, the players’ will to train hard, the players’ will to be available for the team, the players’ desire to win, to earn/work a place in the team.

“And the player is the most responsible. Mr Levy’s responsibility, in my opinion, is some, but is minimal compared with the player. But is true, Mr Levy believed in the player and pushed the player in some conversations they had, that the door was open for him.

“And to me, it’s always the same: the door is always open, but the player cannot expect for me to go and bring him.

“It has to be for the player to walk through that door, and come in the direction of what the team needs from him. So total credit for Tanguy, and I think also Mr Levy deserves some.”

Spurs Web Opinion

Mourinho is spot on when he says that most of the credit should go to Ndombele. However, I believe the Spurs boss himself also deserves praise for the way he has handled the situation. A lot of Tottenham fans were upset to see him publicly call out Ndombele on his lack of effort last season.

However, looking back, there is an argument to be made that Mourinho’s approach proved to be the correct one. The midfielder now looks a lot fitter and is playing with a lot more intensity. It is great to see Jose praising Ndombele to the skies now that he is putting in fantastic performances.

Related Topics