Tottenham fans can get excited by ‘new Paul Pogba’ Tanguy Ndombele – but don’t worry if he looks bored
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TOTTENHAM fans may have seen their pulses skyrocket after Tanguy Ndombele completed his £65million move to North London.
But if there's one person who won't be too over-excited about the new chapter it's Ndombele himself.
Despite the big-money move to the Premier League and being thrust into the spotlight at Spurs, the 22-year-old midfielder will remain as laid-back as ever on the pitch.
His relaxed nature almost saw his career end before it had even began - as Guingamp let him go because he wasn't “mentally ready”.
It was never a question of having a bad attitude, but his nonchalance was mistaken for not caring.
Ndombele himself claimed he was lackadaisical off the ball, saying: “I only played when I had the ball."
Given a second chance by Amiens, Ndombele regained his focus.
In the 2016-17 season he played 30 matches, providing seven assists in the final four months, to help his side gain a dramatic promotion to Ligue 1.
An excellent start to 2017-18, including a breakout performance in a defeat against PSG – during which he hit the bar twice – persuaded Lyon to secure a £7.2m transfer.
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His Lyon debut, again against PSG, saw him put in another man-of-the-match performance.
Ndombele has been a first-team fixture ever since, excelling particularly in the box-to-box role as part of a midfield three.
Relatively comfortable dropping back to support the defence, breaking lines with explosive dribbles up-field and able to pick out a final pass, Ndombele can do it all.
Like Pogba, to whom he is often compared, he has the ability to take total control of a match – with a particularly impressive big game temperament, his relaxed attitude a big benefit on such occasions.
This past season Ndombele has helped Lyon progress from a tough Champions League group, excelling in a win at Manchester City and scoring crucial goals home and away against Hoffenheim.
He has also broken into France’s first team, after helping the Under-21s to qualify for this summer’s Euros.
There are still weak points to work on, though.
For someone with such a powerful shot he should have more goals to his name.
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He also still looks better when playing alongside an out-and-out defensive midfielder.
There, too, remain occasional matches where he comes across as disinterested.
But if Mauricio Pochettino can keep Ndombele consistently focused, he will have a global superstar on his hands.