Totttenham Hotspur’s chase of former Lyon midfielder Tanguy Ndombele this summer was extremely well known and heavily documented on the rumour mill before we finally got the deal over the line.
It was always going to be a drawn-out affair given the involvement of Jean Michel Aulas and his presumed Trumpian like approach to business in the media, and almost true to form, once he’d implied a deadline whereby the price would rise and it would place the deal in doubt, it was barely two days later before the deal went through.
With the 22-year-old midfielder now preparing for Premier League life in the season of 2019/20 he recently conducted an interview with French outlet L’Equipe it was clear the Mauricio Pochettino aspect was at play in the deal as he couldn’t have been more glowing about the Argentine.
“When you look closely, I think that it is a very good choice. What guided me was the Premier League, the top 4 in England, with a very good manager, who is going to help me to take steps forward. I had come to a turning point in my life. You weigh up the pros and cons. And then you decide. They have quite a young team. With very good players. When a club was a Champions’ League finalist this season, you have to look at their project. To put €70m on the table for me, it was a strong signal. When I look at Tottenham, I see a big European club. It is another dimension. To go to the next level, it was the best choice. It was deeply thought through. Tottenham have one of the best managers in the world. The fact that he wants you, it makes you want to come work with him. He was the one who shifted my decision.”
The full translation makes for a very good read really and Ndombele sounds extremely grounded and appreciative of the move and the opportunity it now affords him.
If you can judge a player by an interview, we really do seem to have got a gem.
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