AS Roma manager Jose Mourinho is eyeing up a shock swoop for Tottenham Hotspur outcast Tanguy Ndombele.
According to Calciomercato, AS Roma are in the market for a new athletic midfielder despite a promising start to the campaign. And their head coach Jose Mourinho appears to have set his sights on Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Tanguy Ndombele.
The Frenchman faces an uncertain future in North London after struggling to win over Nuno Espirito Santo in these early parts of the campaign. Although his current contract expires in 2025, Tottenham wouldn’t mind offloading the player, perhaps even in the upcoming January transfer window.
Formerly of Olympique Lyon, Ndombele had initially joined Spurs in 2019, for a hefty fee of €60 million. Unfortunately, the move didn’t play out well for the Premier League giants, with the player struggling with injuries and lack of form in England. He is yet to even establish himself as a first-team regular for the club.
Things haven’t gotten easier under new coach Nuno Espirito Santo, who has played him in only two league matches so far. He didn’t make a big impression either, even finding himself on the receiving end of brutal criticism from Noel Whelan following his dreadful performance against Arsenal in the recent North London derby.
Mourinho, though, is ready to offer him a way out of Tottenham and potentially salvage his career. The Portuguese tactician had coached the 24-year-old for one and a half years during his spell in North London.
Ndombele’s best phase as a Tottenham player came under Mourinho, in fact, when the Frenchman was a key component in the club’s midfield unit during the first half of last season. But his form soon dissipated while the former Manchester United boss himself was fired during the end of the campaign.
Mourinho’s new team AS Roma, though, have started the new season well with four wins in six matches. But they are uncertain of the future of two of their star creative midfielders in Lorenzo Pellegrini and Nicolo Zaniolo, who is incidentally a target for Tottenham Hotspur.
Ndombele, to that end, has been identified as a potential target who can add some much-needed depth in Roma’s midfield unit while his aggression and energy in the middle of the park tune in well with Mourinho’s tactical philosophy. But with the midfielder also being linked with a move to Manchester United and Barcelona, it will be difficult for Roma’s part to secure his services in the near future.
