French journalist Walid Acherchour has been unimpressed with some of Tanguy Ndombele’s recent performances for Lyon.
Ndombele returned to Lyon on loan on transfer deadline day in January, with the Ligue 1 club having the option to make the deal permanent for £54m (Sky Sports).
The Frenchman impressed in his first few outings on his return to the Groupama Stadium and some sources suggested that although Lyon may not be able to sign him permanently, they are already exploring the possibility of extending his loan deal (Jeunes Footeux).
However, Ndombele has produced a few under-par performances over recent weeks, with Peter Bosz’s side having won just one of their last four Ligue 1 encounters.
Following Lyon’s 4-2 loss against Rennes last week, French pundit Nicolas Puydebois said that the on-loan Tottenham man ran out of steam (OL Play via Jeunes Footeux).
Acherchour has now questioned whether Ndombele can be used as part of a two-man midfield pivot in light of his recent struggles.
The journalist said (via Foot Radio): “If there’s a player who I have to blame after this game, it’s especially Tanguy Ndombele. He arrived, it was labelled as his big return, a whimsical player.
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“I like him a lot, he’s an exceptional player who has the ability to get away from pressing, a good vision of the game, who can project himself forward and can find key passes. However, this evening, I again saw him in immense difficulty, and not for the first time.
“In the current sequence, if you look closely, he also struggled against Lens. He wasn’t there against Lorient, as Aouar played in midfield, and I think that was one of Lyon’s best games since the one against Nice, where Ndombele had a good game for once.
“He struggled against Rennes, so it’s true that, going forward, we’ll have to see if this double pivot with Caqueret is viable in the long run.”
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It does seem like Ndombele’s old problems with fitness and consistency might be rearing their head again.
However, in fairness to the midfielder, he might need a few more weeks to get up to speed, having hardly played any football during his final three months at Spurs.
The Tottenham hierarchy will be hoping that the 25-year-old finds form over the next couple of months so that clubs around Europe will show interest in him this summer.
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