Moussa Sissoko has expressed his delight at Tanguy Ndombele’s turnaround in fortunes at Tottenham Hotspur.
Ndombele became Tottenham’s club record signing last year when he made the move from Lyon for £63million and penned a five-year deal (Sky Sports).
Despite a much hyped arrival, the midfielder endured a difficult first season in North London and failed to impress Jose Mourinho during his early months having taken over from Mauricio Pochettino.
The Portuguese publicly criticised the French international’s first half performance against Burnley at Turf Moor in March before the Premier League season was suspended due to the coronavirus outbreak (Football.London).
Sissoko, a man who also struggled in the early days of his Tottenham career has previously revealed that he has been taking up the role of a big brother in helping his compatriot to try and adjust to life at his new club (Guardian).
Ndombele has sparked a remarkable transformation this season with Mourinho having played in all eight of Tottenham’s Premier League fixtures during the current campaign (transfermarkt).
Sissoko has revealed that he told the 23-year-old to remain calm and to continue to work hard in training which has certainly been paying dividends.
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Sissoko told the club’s official website: “I think everyone is very happy with what Tanguy is doing at the moment,” said Moussa, who is a little over seven years older than Tanguy and has played his own part in helping the midfielder to settle in, often sticking close to him at Hotspur Way and acting as his translator while he was learning English. “Of course, last season was a tough season for him – I can say that’s normal, because when you are a young player and you change countries, you go somewhere where you are living alone and you don’t speak the language, and everything is different. Even the league, where you play – you need time to adapt. That was my case as well, when I first came to Tottenham.
“I said to him to stay calm, stay patient, and just work hard in training and try to understand everyone here. Everyone knows he has talent, and everyone is sure he will perform. He’s had a few problems, but everything is fine and you can see this season that he’s very happy to be part of this team – he’s showing a lot of quality on the pitch and we are all happy to have Tanguy in that form. I think he will even improve during the season, but what he is doing and showing is good at the moment.”
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