Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Tanguy Ndombele has again been tipped to leave this summer after falling out of favour under Antonio Conte.
The Frenchman was shipped back on loan to his former club Lyon for the second half of last season in the January transfer window, but has now returned to north London following the end of the 2021/22 campaign.
And Ndombele is also back in pre-season training with Conte’s side, where a big decision is set to be made over his “complicated” situation - as Spurs weigh up their options ahead of a potential exit this summer. After making 16 appearances in all competitions for Spurs in the first half of the campaign, Ndombele failed to impress Conte and was sent back to France on deadline day. He made a further 15 appearances for the Ligue 1 club.
Reflecting on his four month stint back in his homeland in an interview with Media Carre on Instagram on Tuesday, via Sport Witness, Ndombele opened up on the difficulties of the move and how things didn’t exactly go to plan.
He said: "It’s complicated, mitigated. "Four months go by very, very quickly. I don’t regret it, even if we struggled."
Ndombele went on to explain the hardest part of his spell abroad. "The most difficult thing to digest was getting eliminated by West Ham [in the Europa League], but that’s part of the life of a footballer, there’s a need to know how to get back up when things don’t go well."
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Lyon had the option to buy Ndombele at the end of his loan spell inserted into the contract agreement, but opted not to take it up. Now the 25-year-old finds himself left in limbo.
Speaking about whether he can still be happy at Spurs, Ndombele said: "Yes, I think it’s possible to be happy at Tottenham. Regardless of where you can go, you can be happy or unhappy. We’ll see how things go during pre-season. I’m not putting any more pressure on myself than that.”Pushed for an answer on what he really wants for the future, as speculation continues to grow, the Frenchman said: "I think that question… is rather complicated and personal at the same time, but what I want is to be happy, take pleasure in what I do, play, win, that’s all I want."
Ndombele has scored 10 goals in 91 appearances since arriving for a club record fee of £63m three years ago, but the past year has been a clear indication that things aren’t going to plan.
With Rodrigo Bentancur, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Oliver Skipp and Yves Bissouma all in situ in North London, he's got a big challenge on his hands to resurrect his Spurs career.
