Tottenham Hotspur advanced into the fifth round of the FA Cup with a 3-2 victory over Southampton in north London on Wednesday evening, setting up another all-Premier League tie with Norwich City.
Spurs boss Jose Mourinho masterminded their turn around in fortunes with a pair of shrewd second-half substitutions, one of which involving club-record signing Tanguy Ndombele, which has left some fans debating the central midfielder.
The 23-year-old was involved in their opener when he shot deflected in off Saints centre-back Jack Stevens before he was withdrawn just after the hour mark.
Heung-min Son wrapped up the win by converting an 87th-minute penalty, but it was Ndombele’s name on the lips of Spurs supporters.
Here’s what has been said…
There were conflicting views about the £55m ace with one suggesting that he had been lazy whilst another added that his partnership with Giovani Lo Celso could be “brilliant”.
Although the overriding reaction was aimed at Ndombele’s fitness – or lack of – as he was slammed for looking overweight and gassed throughout his 61 minutes on the pitch.
Some reviews were rather scathing as he was compared to a pregnant woman who was expecting triplets whilst others labelled him a “passenger” and said he had the fitness of a League Two footballer.
One fan went as far as suggesting he had the lungs of a 90-year-old, which is quite damning.
Ndombele has played 1,196 minutes of football this campaign, averaging just over 54 minutes from 22 appearances, per Transfermarkt.
However, a few saw some positives in the French international…
“Insane,” “ridiculously good” and “top player” were just three comments backing his potential at Spurs.
Premier League experts will get full marks: The ultimate quiz on top flight transfer flops…
Jose Mourinho spoke about Ndombele post-game and said: “I knew he couldn’t play 90 mins. It is very difficult to start a player who doesn’t have 90 minutes in him when there is a chance you could go to extra time.”
And in other news, former fan-fave Christian Eriksen has spoken out about his final season at the club for the very first time…