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Signing of the season? – Here are 3 ways Poch can extract the best out of Tottenham’s latest £53.8m star

Tottenham Hotspur opinion: How Tottenham could line up with Tanguy Ndombele

Tottenham did not sign any new players for the last two windows but on Tuesday, they signed two.

The Spurs fans had to be patient for a long time and so did their manager, Mauricio Pochettino.

The delay with regards to the stadium and a lack of transfer activity would have frustrated most other fans and managers but Spurs have made this transition seamlessly.

They announced the signing of 18-year-old Jack Clark from Leeds United before confirming the much-awaited transfer of French International Tanguy Ndombele for a club-record fee of £53.8m.

Clarke will be sent back on loan but Ndombele will be an important first-team player for Spurs next season.

Now, let’s figure out the various ways in which Ndombele can be used by the Argentine.

Box-to-box

During his time in Lyon, Ndombele was primarily used by Bruno Genesio as a box-to-box midfielder with a double pivot, often in a 4-4-2 or a 4-2-3-1 system.

Ndombele wasn’t the deepest midfielder in this setting, with Lucas Tousart often being used as in this system to help out the defence.

Lyon usually play a very high line and would often get pressed by the opposition but Ndombele’s fantastic first touch and his ability to resist the first-press made it possible for the team to bypass the press.

Pochettino would often use Mousa Dembele for similar reasons and Ndombele is almost the best like-for-like replacement.

Deep-lying playmaker

Ndombele is not a traditional defensive midfielder. While he’s capable of covering ground and winning tackles and intercepting the ball, it’s not always his strongest suit. Spurs will often have the lion’s share of possession in most games, especially at home.

There won’t be a lot of cleaning up to do except for counter-attacks and Ndombele is more than capable of sweeping up danger if required.

However, regardless of system, Ndombele could be used to start attacks in a manner similar to Dutch International Frenkie De Jong due to his ability to turn his markers.

He’s also an extremely good vertical passer, as seen over the two legs against Manchester City. He racked up 8 assists in all competitions last season.

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An attacking number 8

Pep Guardiola has normalized the use of two number 8s in a system by often deploying two traditional number 8s, two number 10s or a combination of both in a 4-3-3 system.

Ndombele is an all-action midfielder, capable of chance creation and fighting it out with his strength and speed. He’ll need to improve his goal contributions if he wants to play in this system.

He only scored 3 goals in all competitions last season but he is still fairly young at 22 and can develop this part of his game at Spurs.

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Conclusion

Spurs have made a fantastic purchase. There are parts of Ndombele’s game that resembles Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira’s game. His drive and ability to get out of pressure will add a lot of bite to their midfield.

Spurs can now go into this new season at the new stadium with a lot of optimism. Tanguy Ndombele could be one of the signings of the season.