Jermaine Jenas says Tottenham need to find room for Tanguy Ndombele

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Jermaine Jenas has urged Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho to give midfielder Tangauy Ndombele more minutes on the pitch.

The Frenchman was signed in the summer from Lyon for £53.8million (BBC) and arrived in North London with a glowing reputation.

Ndombele made a quick start to his Spurs career with a positive impact in the centre of the park, with his pace and power adding an extra spark to the XI.

But he’s started just two of the club’s last eight games across all competitions since returning to fitness from a groin problem, with a spate of injuries disrupting his season.

The 23-year-old appears to have slipped down the pecking order under Mourinho and it’s not quite worked out for him since the Portuguese manager took charge from Mauricio Pochettino.

Pundit and ex-Spurs midfielder Jenas believes that Ndombele can offer something that is much-needed if he plays more.

“I look at Tanguy Ndombele and I am thinking £60m, I watched him at Lyon – a top midfield player when he is at it,” Jenas told BBC Sport.

“He does seem to be sulking all the time, why that is I don’t know. He doesn’t seem to be happy, but whose job is it to put that right? The manager’s.

“Jose needs to find a way to get Ndombele on to the pitch because the team just looks slow. You go through that whole team and that dynamic element to a team, that athleticism you need in the Premier League, is not there. Ndombele would add that dynamism that you need in midfield.”

TBR’s View:

Ndomeble needs to offer more defensively if he’s going to be a regular starter in a Mourinho side, but ultimately he’s a box-to-box powerhouse that can help improve the team if given another chance.

It seems a no-brainer for him to be recalled on Wednesday night to face Norwich City at home in the FA Cup and he could show what a goalscoring threat he could bring from the midfield, something that the team needs without injured duo Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son.

Ndombele has shown in glimpses he could be a real star in the Spurs XI and he does inject some quality going forward.

The central midfielder cost a huge transfer fee back in the summer and Mourinho should look to get him back in his good books.