Despite costing the club £54m just two years ago, Tottenham Hotspur has, so far, struggled, to get the best out of midfielder Tanguy Ndombele and according to ex-Premier League manager Alex McLeish, that could be down to the Frenchman’s fitness levels.
Ndombele, 24, joined Tottenham Hotspur during the summer of 2019 following a bumper move from French side Lyon.
Since his arrival in the country’s capital, the 24-year-old has struggled to live up to expectations and after being hampered by patchy form as well as injuries, the Londoners may well be wishing they’d have saved their money two years ago.
Despite his poor form though, it is clear that the Frenchman has talent – therefore, questions as to why his time in English football has so far underwhelmed have been raised.
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However, one person who feels he knows the answer is former Birmingham City boss McLeish, who, when speaking exclusively to Football Insider about Ndombele’s torrid time, said: “If those are the stats then people will pick the bones out of that and say he needs to be more fit.
“I don’t know the way he works, the kind of level, that’s for the sports science team.
“They have to get him to a level where if he’s going to produce statistics like that in the first half, the manager will be wanting that for the whole game.
“You can’t say: ‘I’ve got this guy for 45 minutes and then I’m going to take him off because he doesn’t run about in the second half.’
“That is for the sports science guys to get him to a level of fitness where you’re getting top drawer, 90-minute performances.”
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