The Lilywhites continue to be rinsed by “one of the worst signings” ever.
Tottenham Hotspur, in their desperation for silverware, have made some very questionable choices in recent years. The sacking of Mauricio Pochettino marked a turning point for Daniel Levy and the rest of the hierarchy, who outlined a sharp change from steady progression to win-now managers, with limited success.
This was a gaffe that the chairman recently took ownership of though, highlighting huge progression for a man so often lambasted for a lack of transparency amidst the poor decisions he has undertaken during his tenure: “Maybe you’ll be surprised by my answer but I want to win as much as everybody else, but the frustration of not winning and the pressure from maybe some players and from a large element of the fanbase, that we need to win, we need to spend money, we need to have a big manager, we need to have a big name, it affected me,” Levy said.
“I had gone through a period where we’d almost won. With Mauricio we went through some very good times. We didn’t quite get there but we came very close and we had a change in strategy. The strategy was ‘let’s bring in a trophy manager’.
“We did it twice and look you have to learn from your mistakes. They’re great managers but maybe not for this club. For what we want, we want to play in a certain way and if that means it has to take a little bit longer to win maybe it’s the right thing for us. That’s why bringing Ange in was from my point of view the right decision.
However, that’s not to suggest he should be completely exempt from criticism, with other failures of the past having put them in a position where a vast rebuild is needed.
Who is Spurs’ worst-ever signing?
It is a testament to Levy’s tumultuous reign that he has likely overseen the signing of many of the worst acquisitions in the club’s history, given the increased money filtering into the game.
In an effort to compete they have had to up their spending, yet on numerous occasions he has received scorn for a lack of additions due to his frugal nature.
That was not the case when reinvesting the Gareth Bale money with little intelligence, as only one of the seven signed – Christian Eriksen – proved to be a real success. Another example with more recency is the acquisition of Richarlison, who thus far has failed to come even close to the quality needed to live up to his £60m price tag.
However, there is one man who usurps both of these errors to take the title, as Tanguy Ndombele remains the club’s most expensive-ever signing, despite having offered next to nothing on the pitch.
Acquired for a mouth-watering £63m fee at the back end of Pochettino’s time at Spurs, it was expected that this silky Frenchman would offer the foundation to build on the success already earned as they pushed for the Premier League and Champions League titles.
However, within three years of joining, he would return to Lyon on loan, as a searing indictment of their poor and thoughtless recruitment. Napoli would take a season-long punt on him the year following, before yet another boss in Ange Postecoglou pushed him towards the exit door by this time sending him to Turkey.
It seems nobody wants Ndombele in north London, and with good reason given some of his performances. His most recent Premier League term saw him average an abysmal 6.58 average rating, with his best role still a mystery to most.
Journalist Paul Brown has suggested that, due to a lack of influence and the fee attached, no other signing comes close to being as bad as the 26-year-old has been: “I genuinely think, and I have done for a while, that Ndombele is one of the worst signings Spurs have ever made. I keep seeing a lot of people referring to him as a baller. You see clips of him doing skills and tricks and things on Twitter and YouTube, but that’s all he is.”
When delving deeper into the finances, it is hard to argue with him.
What is Tanguy Ndombele’s wage at Spurs?
Given the huge fee expended to tempt him to join, it should come as no surprise that an equally astronomical salary went alongside it. That likely explains their desperation to continue shipping him out on loan, to offset some of the huge financial burden he brings.
Tanguy Ndombele PL Apps, via Sofascore
Salary Spurs Paid, via Capology
Goal Contributions
Average Rating
2022/23
0
£148k-per-week
0
N/A
2021/22
9
£101k-per-week
2
6.58
2020/21
33
£202k-per-week
5
6.90
2019/20
21
£202k-per-week
4
6.85
After all, the current Galatasaray loanee is sitting on a mouth-watering £202k-per-week deal, which is slightly offset by the Turkish outfit who have taken him for the campaign. During the two and a half seasons actually spent in north London, his presence alone has amassed €30.3m (£26.2m) extra
To exacerbate the foolishness surrounding this deal, that salary marked a ridiculous jump up from the £29k-per-week he had previously earned in his homeland.
When does Tanguy Ndombele’s contract expire?
Having been sent out on loan, it is expected that the seven-cap international will see out the final year of his Lilywhites contract, which expires in 2024.
Clearly desperate to find a buyer over the recent summer, this temporary exit until his permanent departure was seemingly the best they could conjure up.
However, it now means that in a year’s time, they will recoup no fee for the man who remains their loftiest financial output to date. A truly terrible piece of business.
How much has Tanguy Ndombele earned across his career?
Having enjoyed brief spells of success, namely before leaving Lyon, the midfielder has amassed a fine sum across his career. Although, the bulk of that has come at Spurs’ expense.
During that final year in Ligue 1, the creative ace posted a 7.04 average rating buoyed by his one goal and seven assists, via Sofascore. It was such a stellar year that likely excited fans of his arrival, with the combative ace billed as someone capable of scoring and assisting from deep. Seeing him score on his debut would have emphasised these high expectations even more.
However, in the end, he would score just ten times across his 91 appearances with thenorth London outfit, costing approximately £8.9m for every strike. In total Ndombele has earned €53.7m (£46.5m) from his various contracts, which still comes to less than the ridiculous total fee paid to bring him to England.
