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Tottenham Hotspur once broke their transfer record to sign Tanguy Ndombele from Lyon, a midfielder who was tipped to transform their team, but where is the Frenchman now?

Tottenham Hotspur have never been the type of club to consistently throw huge sums of money around in the market, yet on rare occasions, they have gone all in when a player seemed too good to ignore.

One such moment arrived in the aftermath of their incredible Champions League run to the final in Madrid, a night that ended in heartbreak with a 2-0 defeat to Liverpool.

That summer, Spurs splashed out £63 million to sign Olympique Lyonnais midfielder Tanguy Ndombele, making him the most expensive player in the club’s history at the time. But where exactly is Ndombele now?

Tanguy Ndombele’s career path after Tottenham

Ndombele’s spell at Tottenham was nowhere near what the club would have expected when they secured his signature at 22 years of age. For a player who arrived with such raw talent and technical promise, he never quite lived up to his potential.

Across five years in north London, he made 91 appearances in all competitions and scored 10 goals, yet his impact was inconsistent, and his lack of intensity without the ball often drew criticism.

After falling out of favour in north London, Ndombele made a temporary return to Lyon in January 2022, featuring 15 times and scoring once, though it was clear that his Spurs career was heading towards its conclusion.

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He then spent the 2022-2023 campaign on loan at Napoli, where he was part of the squad that stormed to their first Serie A title in over three decades, contributing 40 appearances and two goals across all competitions.

His next stop was Turkey with Galatasaray for the 2023-2024 season, where he played 26 times, and although his individual numbers were modest, he left with a league winner’s medal and the Turkish Super Cup in his collection.

He has since played 25 games for Nice in the 2024-2025 season, netting twice. However, injuries, including a sports hernia and a groin issue that required surgery, cut his season short.

Has Tanguy Ndombele revived his career since leaving Spurs?

A player once valued at £64 million now holds a TransferMarkt value of €7 million (£6 million), underlining just how far his stock has fallen.

The Frenchman has not played for his country since March 2021, leaving him capped at just seven senior appearances, and while he has lifted silverware in Italy and Turkey, he has never truly nailed down a permanent starting role at any of his clubs since leaving Spurs.

Now 28, Ndombele looks to have his home at Nice, where he has featured consistently for Franck Haise. However, a recent injury has left him sidelined, with a return date pencilled for later this month.

Tottenham midfielder Pape Sarr has decided to do something heartwarming with his international match bonuses after scoring two for Senegal this week.

In a day and age where footballers, rightly or wrongly, have a reputation as being prima donnas and arrogant, Sarr is cut from a different cloth.

The Tottenham Hotspur midfielder is always playing with a smile and is a complete team man, happy to play in any position and willing to run through a brick wall for his side.

It turns out that the 22-year-old is also setting an example to his fellow professionals off the pitch by donating some of his earnings to charitable causes.

Pape Sarr’s classy charity work for orphaned children

According to Football.London, Sarr has decided to donate the bonuses he gets while playing for Senegal to help the orphaned children back in his country.

The bonuses he receives for his two appearances during the current international break will be donated to the National Office for the Pupils of the Nation (ONPN), a public institution that supports orphans of the armed forces and other victims who died in service to Senegal.

Sarr will be rounding out the amount he earned in bonuses to around 5million CFA francs (£6,600) to be donated to the children in his homeland.

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Additionally, the report reveals that the Tottenham man runs the Pape Matar Sarr Foundation in Senegal, which helps youngsters push for better education, sports and health for the future generation.

Football.London explain that through his foundation, Sarr has visited orphanages and spoken to government officials to discuss key social and educational development issues.

He also ensured the distribution of food kits to families in his childhood neighbourhood, and the youngster is hopeful that other footballers will follow his lead.

When asked about his charitable contributions, Sarr said: “These are children who need our support because they no longer have their parents by their side.

“I have made a commitment to them, and I will do my best to ensure they lack nothing. This is only a small gesture. Others will certainly follow through my foundation. In the meantime, I hope this small gesture can bring relief to some of them.”

Dutch pundit Valentijn Driessen says Micky van de Ven has a clear weakness, urging Ronald Koeman to drop the Tottenham star from the team.

Almost all of Van de Ven’s 12 caps for the Netherlands have come at left-back, which speaks to the world-class options that Koeman has in central defence.

Virgil van Dijk partnered Jan Paul van Hecke, who is incidentally a target for Tottenham, at centre-back in the 1-1 draw against Poland, while the Liverpool man played alongside Stefan de Vrij in the heart of the Dutch defence against Lithuania.

While the Tottenham Hotspur man played at left-back against the Poles, Nathan Ake got the nod to start against Lithuania, but Driessen does not believe either of those players should be playing at full-back.

Calls to drop Tottenham’s Micky van de Ven from Netherlands XI

Driessen has said that while he is a fan of Van de Ven and the attributes he brings, the 24-year-old is not a natural at left-back.

He named Burnley’s summer signing Quilindschy Hartman and Arsenal’s Jurrien Timber as better fits for that role.

When asked if the Spurs defender is the best option for left-back, Driessen said (via Soccer News): “The ultimate left back plays at Burnley. That’s Hartman. He’s the best left back, but he’ll have a few months to get back to his old level.

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“Then I think he’s the best left back on the Dutch national team. Jurriën Timber played there too. If you don’t play him in the centre, you can put him at left back. Van de Ven has a lot of energy, speed, and strength. He can run really fast to the byline, and then he doesn’t know what to do. That’s a problem.”

Why Thomas Frank may not like to see Van de Ven at left-back

Thomas Frank has said he has drafted a plan to ensure Tottenham do not have an injury crisis this season, and one would imagine that involves lowering the training load and minutes for certain players.

Van de Ven is one of the players whose workload Frank and his staff will have to carefully consider, given the former Wolfsburg man’s history of hamstring injuries.

That is why there may be some concerns at Spurs that he is being used at left-back for his national side, with the position requiring a lot more sprints up and down the field than the centre-back role.

Rio Ferdinand has delivered a major verdict on Tottenham Hotspur defender Djed Spence, with the Manchester United legend tipping him for a big role in the England setup.

The last year has been a big one for Tottenham Hotspur’s Djed Spence, who has had to work tirelessly to revive his career after several setbacks following his move to north London.

Once well down the pecking order under Antonio Conte, Spence has turned his fortunes around, becoming a key part of Tottenham’s squad and playing his role in helping the Lilywhites secure Europa League glory.

That hard work and resilience have now been rewarded, as Djed Spence has earned his first England cap after being called up by Thomas Tuchel during the international break.

Rio Ferdinand backs Spence for key England role

Rio Ferdinand has now shared his thoughts on Djed Spence and where he believes the Tottenham defender fits in this current England squad.

Speaking on the player’s development, Ferdinand insisted that Spence is good enough to take on the Kyle Walker role thanks to his versatility and his ability to dominate in defensive situations.

“He is the number one one v one defender in the England squad right now, no one comes near him,” Ferdinand said, speaking on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast.

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Asked whether he would still start Kyle Walker, he added: “If you are going to play three centre backs I would. But if you are not going to have three centre-backs, I would not.

“I think Djed Spence is now prime and ready to take over the Kyle Walker role. He can play right-back, left-back, and if you had to play three at the back, he could slot in at right centre back because he is so quick he can cover everything.”

Tottenham set England record thanks to Djed Spence debut

Djed Spence has now become the 80th England international from Tottenham to represent the Three Lions, making Spurs the club with the most England internationals in history.

He is also the first Muslim Englishman to represent England, which marks a personal milestone that he will undoubtedly take pride in as he continues his journey at the highest level.

Tottenham have had plenty of global superstars over the years, from Gareth Bale to Luka Modric and Harry Kane, but they may have another on their hands.

On the back of an outstanding season on loan at Belgian side Westerlo last season, Luka Vuskovic made his senior debut for Croatia aged just 18 in the summer.

That shows how highly the youngster is thought of back in his home country, and there is also a lot of excitement at Spurs about Vuskovic on the back of his impressive showing in pre-season.

Vuskovic has joined Hamburg on a season-long loan deal and is still waiting for his debut for the Bundesliga club, and the youngster will be hoping that he can make a big impact in German football.

Luka Vuskovic backed to evolve into Croatia’s next superstar

Vuskovic has set his sights on becoming a first-team fixture at Tottenham, and in order to do that, he will have to catch the eye of Thomas Frank and his coaching staff with his performances in Hamburg.

Former Hamburg and Croatia forward Mladen Petric has admitted that he is very excited to see how the teenager will do in the newly promoted Bundesliga club, and he revealed that the Spurs man reminds him of a young Josko Gvardiol.

When asked about the centre-back, Petric told BILD (as relayed by Sport Witness): “Luka is a pretty hot prospect, one of the top talents in Croatia. He reminds me of the young Josko Gvardiol, who now plays for Manchester City. Vuskovic could become the next superstar in our country.

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“I’m curious to see how quickly Luka settles into his role as defensive leader at HSV, leading the team from the back. That could take a while. He’s definitely an asset to my former team. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for him and the team.”

Vuskovic declined the option to stay at Tottenham

Vuskovic has admitted that Tottenham were happy for him to stay, but he decided to leave on loan in order to get regular football under his belt.

According to reports, Spurs charged an extremely modest loan fee from Hamburg for Vuskovic, which is perhaps evidence that the player really wanted to join the north German club.

Only time will tell if the young centre-back has made the right decision as we wait to see if he can become a regular in the Bundesliga club’s backline.

Tamworth FC midfielder Tom Tonks has admitted that he was in awe of how good Lucas Bergvall was for Tottenham when he came up against the North London club in the FA Cup last season.

The romance of the FA Cup comes from the fact that some of the highest-paid footballers in the world sometimes come against semi-professionals, who play many tiers lower.

That is what happened when Tottenham Hotspur were drawn away at non-league side Tamworth FC last season, which means that Spurs had to travel to Lamb Ground, which had a capacity of just 4000.

Ange Postecoglou’s men made hard work of the tie, which went into extra-time, but Spurs’ quality eventually told as they emerged 3-0 winners.

Tom Tonks admits Lucas Bergvall was on a different level in Tottenham clash

Even though Tamworth put on a decent showing, Tonks confessed that the Spurs players were on a different level in terms of their strength, athleticism and technical quality.

The midfielder admitted that he was particularly impressed with Lucas Bergvall, tipping the Swede to evolve into a top player.

When asked about facing Tottenham, the Tamworth man told Ballers Mindset: “Mate, it was so good. You know when people say, ‘I could play in the Prem’, nah man, you can’t play the Prem.

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“They’re just so strong, so quick. Bissouma put his hand on my chest and nearly knocked me out – he was that strong, but the way they move across the pitch it’s different.

“That young lad, Bergvall, he glides across the pitch, and I think he was 18 years old, he’s going to be some player. There are levels to this game. They were very, very good.”

This could be a big season for Lucas Bergvall

Bergvall swept all of Tottenham’s end-of-season awards last season, which is a ridiculous achievement for a teenager in his first year in the Premier League.

The 19-year-old finds himself out of the team at the start of the Thomas Frank era, with Rodrigo Bentancur, Joao Palhinha and Pape Sarr all seemingly ahead of him in the pecking order.

Thomas Frank is already making an impression at Tottenham Hotspur, and Micky van de Ven has revealed something he has observed about his new manager.

Thomas Frank knew he was taking on a tough task when he made the decision to become the new manager of Tottenham Hotspur. Ange Postecoglou had just been sacked even after winning the Europa League, showing the high demands of the job.

Frank was in a fairly comfortable position at Brentford. Tottenham’s cross-city neighbours never looked in danger of relegation from the Premier League, while no one was calling for Frank’s sacking for failing to qualify for any European competitions.

However, Frank decided to take on the daunting task of managing Spurs and he is already experiencing how unpredictable it can be.

Tottenham got off to a dream start in the league, defeating Burnley and Manchester City. This was followed up with a home defeat to Bournemouth, showing that no one week is the same.

Micky van de Ven heaps praise on Thomas Frank at Tottenham

Despite Frank already tasting defeat against Bournemouth, as well as being on the wrong end of a UEFA Super Cup comeback, Micky van de Ven has been impressed with his new boss. He has revealed that Frank has standards which he expects his players to meet and they are already having an effect on the squad.

Van de Ven told Tottenham Hotspur: “You can see that he really lives the game. He loves it, and every time when he speaks about it, you see it, he’s on everything, even in pre-season.

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“Of course, we still have a lot to improve, but even at this point, everyone knows what the gaffer expects from them, and everyone does it. I have the feeling that he just got his way of playing, way of thinking, the way he thinks about football, he got it quite quickly into the group.”

Frank has the chance to get Spurs on a winning run

Frank will be keen on continuing to share his philosophy and expectations after the international break, including with the club’s newest recruits. He will certainly have some confidence considering Tottenham’s upcoming fixtures.

Spurs are up against West Ham when club football returns, before hosting Manor Solomon and his Villarreal teammates in the Champions League. Tottenham will then take on Doncaster and Wolves before a trip to Norway to face Bodo/Glimt. This will be followed by Leeds away and Aston Villa at home.

Michael Dawson has opened up on his decision to swap Tottenham Hotspur for Hull City in 2014, with the former Spurs captain admitting that it was the wrong call.

While Dawson may not make anyone’s list of the top 20 players Tottenham have had in the Premier League era, few players were as revered by the Spurs faithful as he was.

The England international, who made 236 appearances for the Lilywhites over nine years, wore his heart on his sleeve and was a real leader at the back for the North Londoners.

The centre-back departed Tottenham ahead of Mauricio Pochettino’s first season in charge, and in hindsight, he admits he made a mistake.

Michael Dawson reveals Mauricio Pochettino was happy to keep him at Tottenham

The Tottenham fan-favourite has now confessed that he left N17 too early and that he should have stayed at the club for a bit longer.

He explained that a number of factors, including the possibility of not getting regular game time, convinced him to leave, but he admitted he almost immediately regretted his decision.

Dawson told Hollie’s Hotspurs: “Emotional, a challenge and a chore. Was it the right time? It was the wrong decision in hindsight, but we don’t have got a crystal ball.

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When asked about whether he would have liked to have played under Pochettino, the 41-year-old said: “100 per cent. I did pre-season with Poch, and he was a great guy, he didn’t say he wanted me to leave. I could have stayed, but was I going to play? A lot of things came into the decision to leave.

“I remember driving home from Hull, the day after I signed and remember thinking, ‘I wish I could phone Daniel (Levy) to tell him to take me back’. Nothing against Hull, it just wasn’t the right time for me to leave Spurs, but as I said, there were too many things in my mind that swayed me to make that decision.”

Another of Dawson’s former Spurs teammates regrets leaving

Just like Dawson, another one of his former Tottenham teammates has admitted multiple times over the years that he made a huge mistake by leaving the Lilywhites when he did.

Spurs hero Rafael van der Vaart has said that leaving Tottenham in 2012 was the worst decision of his career.

Tottenham Hotspur have just announced that they have hired another former Arsenal figure, who will follow Vinai Venkatesham to N17.

It has been a summer of change at the boardroom level for Spurs, with the most high-profile change coming last week when Daniel Levy was asked to leave by the Lewis family after 24 years at the helm of the club.

Peter Charrington, who serves as a director at ENIC, has been appointed non-executive chairman of Spurs in what will be a much less hands-on role than Levy.

The main responsibility will thus fall on Spurs CEO Vinai Venkatesham, who is no stranger to calling the shots at a top Premier League club, having previously served as the chief at Arsenal.

Adam Gardiner swaps Arsenal for Tottenham

Tottenham have now confirmed that yet another ex-Arsenal employee will be arriving at Lilywhite House, with Adam Gardiner being confirmed as Spurs’ new chief marketing officer.

Gardiner served as the Gunners’ marketing director for five years, before which he held various roles at the top of Nike for over a decade.

In their announcement, Spurs announced that Gardiner will begin in his new role at the turn of the year, and that he will “lead on the development and execution of the Club’s brand, marketing, and content strategies to further deepen engagement with our fans.”

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Gardiner and Vinai Venkatesham react to the appointment

Gardiner admitted that he is thrilled to be joining Tottenham and stated his desire to make Spurs supporters proud in his new role.

He said: “It’s an incredibly exciting time for the club. Tottenham Hotspur has a rich history and strong values, and there’s a huge opportunity ahead. I’m honoured to be appointed and look forward to working with a talented team to make Spurs supporters proud.”

Venkatesham confirmed that Gardiner has been brought through the door primarily to strengthen the club’s connection with their supporters.

Tottenham Hotspur have now set a deadline for interested parties to declare whether they intend to bid for the club.

Just two days after the news of Daniel Levy’s departure, it emerged that two different consortia began talks with Tottenham regarding a takeover of the club.

The report revealed that one of them was PCP International Finance Limited, headed by former Newcastle United chief Amanda Staveley.

Spurs then announced on Sunday that they rejected two approaches to buy a stake in the club, including the one from PCP.

Tottenham Hotspur set a deadline for investors to declare bid intentions

Subsequently, PCP said that it does not intend to make an offer for Spurs but “reserves the right under the Takeover Code to re-enter negotiations if another party makes a formal offer.”

After that public declaration, PCP are not allowed to launch an offer for Tottenham Hotspur for the next six months, unless invited to do so by the club or if another party launches an offer.

Now, Sky Sports have said that Tottenham’s majority shareholder, ENIC, has set a deadline of 5 pm on October 5 for interested groups to declare whether or not they intend to bid for the club.

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We will thus likely find out over the next few weeks how many consortia are seriously considering a takeover offer of the North London club.

The Lewis family maintain they do not want to sell

According to various reports, the Lewis family have maintained that they do not intend to sell Tottenham, and instead want to spearhead an ambitious project.

The same was also backed up by Spurs CEO Vinai Venkatesham, who hinted that the Lewis family are ready to invest in Spurs to help the club achieve on-pitch success.

It will be interesting to see if their stance changes if a sufficiently large offer arrives for the club.