Darren Bent suggests Jose Mourinho ‘doesn’t really fancy’ Tanguy Ndombele

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Former Tottenham Hotspur striker Tanguy Ndombele has suggest Jose Mourinho does not favour the club’s record signing, Tanguy Ndombele.

The French star, who arrived last summer for a fee that could eventually reach £63 million (BBC Sport), has not had the easiest of starts at the club.

The midfielder has actually made a respectable 20 appearances for the club so far, but he has had a couple of injuries and hasn’t been a regular starter in the Premier League.

His lack of minutes domestically has surprised some supporters, and ex-Lilywhite Bent has theorised the new manager simply might not fancy the 23-year-old.

In a discussion about Spurs’ potential activity this month, he said on talkSPORT: “He [Mourinho] needs to start back to front. They need to find some kind of legs at the back. A defensive midfield player, big powerful presence, because we thought Ndombele was going to be the guy who was going to take that mantle.

“He’s had injuries, he’s been in and out, and I’m not even sure Mourinho really fancies him.”

Bent’s suggestion comes after Mourinho remarked that the ex-Lyon man was ‘always injured’ after the Boxing Day clash with Brighton (Metro), which he missed.

TBR’s view – Tottenham fans right to worry

Spurs fans are right to have concerns about how Ndombele might fare under Mourinho.

There was huge hype when the club staved off the competition for him last summer, and it would be a real shame if his injuries were to affect Mourinho’s perception of him.

He is a huge talent with the potential to become the driving force of the Spurs midfield – hopefully he can soon start to get some momentum going and prove Bent and other sceptics wrong.

Mourinho did call Ndombele ‘phenomenal’ after the draw with Norwich City (FourFourTwo), which will give some encouragement.