It has felt like Tottenham’s pursuit of Georges-Kevin Nkoudou would never come to an end, but it has finally reached a positive conclusion. He joins the club for an undisclosed fee and has signed a five-year-deal, while Clinton Njie has gone in the opposite direction on loan. This signing has been met with relief rather than excitement and Spurs supporters are hoping that he was worth the wait.
Although the winger only joined today, he has been training with Tottenham and has already started to integrate with his new team-mates. He must have impressed the coaching staff during these sessions as the club remained locked in talks and they can now select him for the first team.
His role is expected to be minor to begin with. However, everybody involved with Tottenham will be hoping that he contributes significantly more than Clinton Njie who arrived in a similar deal last summer.
The attacking options at the club are limited and it was important to complete a move for Nkoudou. He will provide competition for starting places and does offer something different to an already strong squad.
The Frenchman possesses explosive pace and loves to run at defenders. Nkoudou could be a devastating impact sub, brought on to attack tired legs in opposing defences. He completed 2.3 dribbles per game in Ligue 1 last season, which suggests that he will be an exciting player to watch.
He only moved to Marseille last summer and he showed an impressive mentality as he immediately adjusted to playing for a bigger club. This ability to adapt to a new club is impressive and it should help him settle in at Spurs. It will be a lot harder to become a regular at Tottenham.
However, he will be encouraged by Mauricio Pochettino’s management of young players since taking over at White Hart Lane. If a player performs, they will be given further chances in the first team.
Although Nkoudou showed promise and his dribbling ability made him exciting to watch, there are doubts about his consistency. He remains raw and sometimes tries too much, which can cause the breakdown of attacks. He was dispossessed frequently and his end product needs to be improved. These are things that need to be worked on before Nkoudou can challenge for a first team place.
It is a much needed attacking addition for the club and adds to the depth in the squad. Tottenham were burned last summer by Njie, which makes it important that Nkoudou makes a strong start. His pace could prove to be a weapon if utilised correctly. The Frenchman is raw, but if anybody can help him develop, it is Pochettino.
Here is how Twitter reacted to the French winger finally joining the club:
There was relief that the deal had finally been confirmed:
https://twitter.com/kaiyidnorth/status/771038578642132992
https://twitter.com/LaurenSegal/status/771038345275252736
Some Spurs fans aren’t convinced by N’Koudou:
Others were angry at the lack of business done at White Hart Lane:
https://twitter.com/CurtisTHFC/status/771037821029249025
The wait could have placed more expectation on the winger:
https://twitter.com/MB2314/status/771037867237834752
https://twitter.com/TheBoySeggy/status/771035414668910592
Finally, the winger saw the funny side of the protracted saga:
Featured image: All rights reserved by Mathieu