Tanguy Ndombele has not lived up to expectations at Tottenham Hotspur so he got tips from manager Mourinho

When Tanguy Ndombele joined Tottenham Hotspur from Olympique Lyon in a deal worth €62 million, there was a sense of euphoria amongst the fans. His price tag as appropriate for the performance he put up in France. However, his time in Spurs has been far from satisfying. Furthermore, he has failed to establish himself as a starter for the club. In such a situation, it is understandable that his confidence is not exactly high.

The worst point of the season came for Ndombele got criticised publicly by new manager Jose Mourinho for his performance in a 1-1 draw at Burnley. The famously feisty Portuguese manager warned he could not keep giving Ndombele opportunities after he was substituted at half-time at Turf Moor, He said that while he understands that players take time to adapt to the Premier League, a player of Ndombele’s quality should do better.

Mourinho recently included Mesut Ozil in his XI of the greatest players he has managed. Although Arsenal fans consider Ozil as “lazy”, his performances for Real Madrid under Mourinho justify the inclusion.

Mesut Ozil at Madrid vs Arsenal

Ozil joined Real Madrid in 2010 for €15 million. And upon his arrival, he immediately became an important part of Jose Mourinho’s team. Over three seasons in Spain, he won the La Liga, the Copa del Rey, and the Spanish Supercup once with Real Madrid.

He played 159 matches for the Los Blancos and scored 27 times. He provided a whooping 80 assists over this period, forming a lethal partnership with Cristiano Ronaldo. 26.7 assists per season is an amazing feat, and orchestrated his move to Arsenal in 2013.

With the Gunners, his productivity declined. He played 254 games and scored 44 times, but provided only 77 assists. This is due to the fact that while he was the heart of the midfield at Real Madrid, that was not the case at Arsenal. With the Los Blancos, he would occupy the attacking centre of the midfield. This allowed him to play his natural game. In contrast, he does not get the central role in the midfielder with the Gunners.

At Real Madrid, he also had an extremely clinical forward ahead of him in the form of Cristiano Ronaldo. Arsenal have also had good forwards, but they are not Ronaldo at the end of the day.

Ozil is not a physical player. He is more tactical and depends on his creativity, agility, finesse, and versatility. Thus, he does not bother running across the pitch, which is done by most players in the Premier League. Football in England depends more on physicality than on creativity, while it is the opposite in Spain. This makes Ozil looks “lazy” to Arsenal fans.

However, Mourinho, talking from his own experience, has rightly identified Ozil’s class and included him in the XI.

Ozil vs Ndombele

It makes no sense to compare Ozil and Ndombele considering they are completely different types of midfielders. Ozil is a traditional “number 10” who can also play out wide and likes to find the space between opposition defenders and midfielders. On his day, the German is nearly impossible to mark. The Spurs man is more of a ball-carrying, box-to-box player with a physical presence.

Mourinho cannot expect a performance of Ozil’s level from Ndombele, and he probably does know that. But Ndombele can surely gather more composure and ignite that creative spark that he displayed at Lyon.

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