According to notable transfer expert Duncan Castles, this summer’s transfer window is likely to be a ‘depressed’ one compared to previous years amid the current suspension to football, largely around the world. With that in mind and the fact there’s nothing to give us a footballing fix, the Transfer Tavern are doing their best to remind their readers how some of their club’s fans reacted to the biggest signings of this season in order to focus on what’s been before us, rather than the uncertainty ahead.
Having reached the Champions League final, money became no issue for Tottenham Hotspur as they headed into the summer of 2019 looking to make their first signing since January 2018. The Lilywhites made a whopping €102m (roughly £94.5m) as they reached the showpiece event in Madrid and their very first move was to smash their transfer record as Tanguy Ndombele joined from Olympique Lyonnais for €60m (roughly £55.6m).
There was much excitement at his arrival with Spurs fans flocking to Twitter to display their elation as one fan professed his love for Daniel Levy.
AGGGHHHHHH LETS GOOOO 🇫🇷🇫🇷
— Bergwijn FC (@sxbmilIi) July 2, 2019
I LOVE YOU LEVVVYYYYYY
— • J A C K • (@JxckTHFC) July 2, 2019
Well done Levy…. thinking big at last… 😄
— Paul Oakes (@PaulOakes5) July 2, 2019
Is this real life?
— WaitOfTheWorld (@LillWicked) July 2, 2019
this is the most beautiful thing i’ve ever seen
— nia 🌹 (@thfcstyles) July 2, 2019
THANK YOU SO MUCH, THE AMOUNT OF TIMES I HAVE SEARCHED THE NAME NDOMBELE IN THE LAST 3 WEEKS
— Luke ⚪️ (@thfc_lukev2) July 2, 2019
Well, it’s fair to say the 22-year-old hasn’t exactly lived up to the hype which surrounded his big-money move to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. He doesn’t exactly appear to be one of Jose Mourinho’s favourites at the moment with the Portuguese manager having lambasted him after he was substituted at half-time in the draw to Burnley earlier this month (via BBC).
It’s not hard to see why the former Manchester United coach decided to take aim. The France international was performing well below-par as he had no shot on goal and played no key pass in the final third during his 45 minutes on the pitch, as per WhoScored. He wasn’t much better in attempting to shield the Spurs back-four as he made no tackles, no interceptions and blocked no efforts on goal.
Former Tottenham forward Darren Bent didn’t hold back in his criticism of the central midfielder, claiming he expected more from the record signing (via Football Insider).
Overall, he has been on the periphery of the starting XI, appearing from the beginning in just three of the last nine games across all competitions (via Transfermarkt). And with a report from The Athletic claiming Ndombele isn’t putting in enough effort, he is unlikely to get more starts or endear himself to the supporters anytime soon.
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