So long, Tanguy Ndombele. Thank you for the artistic improvisation to lob Aaron Ramsdale, thank you for leaving N’Golo Kante munching dust after wheeling away with silk and style, thank you for that turn-and-scoop to set Heung-min Son into space, who scored, of course, en route to Tottenham Hotspur victory over Manchester City.
Moments of brilliance, class of blue-chip standing, but, alas, Ndombele has now departed upon the expiry of his contract, never renewed, a renewal never discussed openly, the Frenchman, still only 27, last donning Lilywhite colours on Boxing Day 2021, earning 11 Premier League minutes against Crystal Palace before leaving for a string of unsuccessful cameos overseas.
He signed from Lyon for a club-record £55m fee in July 2019, earned a wage of £200k per week, though periods of promise were few and far between and he was even described as “one of the worst signings Spurs have ever made” by journalist Paul Brown.
Farewell, Ndombele. Ange Postecoglou will ensure the blunder is not repeated, having already drawn up plans for an exciting replacement.
Spurs lining up Premier League star
As per Football Insider, Tottenham are seeking to strengthen the advanced area of the midfield and have lined up Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White, who is valued at £60m by his outfit.
Daniel Levy is understood to have a strong interest in bringing the 24-year-old to north London, placing him on a tight shortlist and continuing to keep an eagle eye on his situation at the City Ground.
Forest paid £25m to sign Gibbs-White from Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2022, with a further £17.5m in potential add-ons. The Tricky Trees star, however, is deemed one of the club’s most sellable assets as they fight to avoid breaching PSR and suffer another points deduction.
Why Gibbs-White is a Ndombele upgrade
James Maddison’s nosedive in form over the closing months of the campaign highlighted the importance of signing another attacking midfielder this summer.
Giovani Lo Celso is unhappy at the club and is expected to leave, with Tottenham transfer-listing the Argentine for only £15m. Ndombele is gone, and while he’s indeed been away from the first team for a few years, the hole left by the pair would leave a Gibbs-White-shaped hole in Postecoglou’s system.
And since he’s a dream for the London-based side, it’s surely worth making a move. Analyst Ben Mattinson has even noted that the player has “got Tottenham written all over him” as noise surrounding a swoop continues to rise.
Since Maddison is Spurs’ chief playmaker and it’s hard to imagine that Gibbs-White would usurp him in that regard, Postecoglou must look to integrate the 24-year-old into the mould of Spurs’ fallen star, Ndombele.
The all-action midfielder’s second season at Tottenham, 2020/21, was inarguably his finest and it’s through the collation of the respective players that it can be posited that Forest’s playmaking lifeblood can be the belated upgrade to offer Spurs a new dimension in the centre of the park.
Ndombele sat deeper than Gibbs-White does for Forest but his remarkable rate of dribbling speaks of the willingness and tactical responsibility to drive forward and create for his peers. Unfortunately, his playmaking skill was not channelled to its best degree, making less than a quarter of the English midfielder’s key passes on average.
But there’s no denying that Gibbs-White is robust and combative. He might sit further forward but he covers far more ground and receives a greater number of passes from his teammates.
Given that Tottenham are seeking a defensive midfielder also, Gibbs-White, who currently earns £80k per week, might just be the dream, multi-functional replacement.
