Tottenham Hotspur Players
Tanguy Ndombele
Tanguy Ndombele is finally meeting Jose Mourinho's demands and superb Shkendija moment proved it
Tanguy Ndombele played only his second full game under Jose Mourinho on Thursday as Tottenham sealed a 3-1 win over Shkendija in their Europa League qualifier
Rob GuestTottenham Hotspur Writer
Tanguy Ndombele wowed for Tottenham on Thursday evening as they beat Shkendija in the Europa League (Image: Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images)
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It appears that Tottenham are finally going to see the real Tanguy Ndombele this season.
Signed in July 2019 in a club-record move, the Frenchman really struggled in his first year at the club and looked so far off the player who came to the attention of Europe's biggest sides following a standout couple of campaigns at Lyon.
Certainly not helped by a number of niggling injuries and his poor fitness, the 23-year-old showed in glimpses his quality but was never able to deliver 90-minute performances on a consistent basis.
Heavily criticised by Jose Mourinho for his display at Burnley at the start of March as he was hooked at half-time, a knee injury meant he wasn't able to redeem himself as he only played a further 64 minutes when the league restarted midway through June.
Rob Guest on Spurs' Europa League win
Clearly working extremely hard at Hotspur Way ahead of the new season in his bid to become a huge success in north London, Mourinho stated ahead of the Everton opener that he was "working very hard" and "working better than ever".
His hard work is clearly paying off and now he is showing it on the pitch.
Unable to inspire Spurs to a comeback against the Toffees as he came on for the final 14 minutes of the drab contest, he helped change the game in Tottenham's favour in their next match as his late goal sealed a 2-1 win over Lokomotiv Plovdiv in their Europa League qualifier.
Playing a key role in Son Heung-min's crucial equaliser away at Southampton with a sublime turn in his own half before he was replaced by Giovani Lo Celso at the break, the French international was once again given his chance from the start as the team travelled to Shkendija for their next European match.
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Ndombele was a standout player for Spurs on the night and had a big impact all over the pitch for the Lilywhites.
Keen to get on the ball and making things happen by getting his team moving forward, he also contributed defensively to help the team advance to the play-off round with a 3-1 win.
As good as he was in terms of an attacking sense, there was one bit of play in the final 15 minutes which will have gone down extremely well with his boss.
As the hosts looked to equalise for a second time, Ndombele tracked all the way back to his own box and won a defensive header at the back post to snuff out the danger and ensure that Shkendija didn't have an attempt on Joe Hart's goal.
It was brilliant play for the Frenchman and a side of his game we failed to see last season as he tried to adapt to life in the capital.
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He also caught the eye in the closing seconds of the win with some more play off the ball as he bust a gut to get forward and help out Spurs on the counter.
Fitness was a major issue for the player last season but his work at both ends of the pitch suggests that shouldn't be a problem going forward.
His 90-minute appearance against Shkendija was only the second full game he has completed under Mourinho but there should be a lot more of them to come over the next few months if he can keep on progressing.
While he can be devastating for Tottenham when he is on the ball due to his skill, vision and creativity, it will have been his work off the ball that would have impressed many on Thursday evening.
Ndombele has made a real statement of intent so far this season and the best thing is there is so much more to come from the club's record signing.
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