Tanguy Ndombele is not the type of midfielder that suits Antonio Conte’s system and his future at the club is under threat, claim former Tottenham duo Danny Murphy and Jamie O’Hara.
The midfielder, Spurs’ record signing, was heavily booed by his own supporters during Sunday’s 3-1 FA Cup third round win over Morecambe, infuriating fans by slowly walking off the pitch as he was being substituted despite the fact his team were losing 1-0 to the League One team at the time.
Sportsmail has learned that Conte had originally planned for Ndombele to stay at the club until at least the end of the season, believing the midfielder had the talent and profile to play a role in his plans moving forward.
Tanguy Ndombele (left) is not Antonio Conte’s (right) ‘type of player’, insist former Tottenham duo Danny Murphy and Jamie O’Hara
But Conte had significant reservations about Ndombele’s work-rate but felt he could motivate the Frenchman to contribute more off the ball.
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However, it is understood that Conte is now minded to let Ndombele leave the club during the January transfer window, permanently or on loan, after the player failed to convince him of his desire to work harder – while the furore that greeted his substitution on Sunday has reinforced the club’s stance.
And with the writing now on the wall, Murphy and O’Hara believe the Frenchman was never a good fit for the Italian.
‘He’s not really a Conte player, as a midfielder,’ Murphy told talkSPORT.
‘He likes more desire, more tenacity and more athleticism in his midfielders, he’s [Ndombele] got great ability, great technical ability but he doesn’t show it often enough.
Murphy (left) and O’Hara (right) both agree he is not the player Conte is after at Tottenham
‘He’s put him in a game and saying “go on then here you go against Morecombe, show off your stuff and win us the game”, and he’s been poor and Morecombe have taken the lead until 70-odd minutes then he’s thrown his toys out.’
O’Hara agreed with Murphy, claiming he knew the Frenchman’s time at the club was limited as soon as Conte was appointed by the club.
‘I knew as soon as Conte came in Ndombele is just not the type of player that’s going to work for Antonio Conte, he hasn’t got the fitness and the drive to play in a Antonio Conte side, I just knew it wouldn’t work for him,’ O’Hara added.
’10 years ago, Ndombele for me is a throwback of that ‘number 10’ player whose like a maverick, a magic man who could do something out of the ordinary, something special to win a game, I don’t think those players really exist anymore.
Ndombele (left) could now be sold by Tottenham in the January transfer window
‘Ndombele is just not that, he’s just not that type of player.’
The prospect of Ndombele leaving Spurs this month is relatively new and it is understood the club are still waiting for concrete interest to emerge.
Ndombele arrived from Lyon in 2019 for a fee of up to £65million on a five-year deal worth in the region of £200,000 per week.
His massive wages are likely to prove a stumbling block in Tottenham’s attempts to offload him this month, but work has begun to establish if there is interest.