Congratulations, Spurs fans: the club’s long transfer market nightmare is finally over. On Tuesday, Tottenham Hotspur announced not just one, but two transfers, the first by the club since signing right winger (both on the field and off of it) Lucas Moura back in January of 2018. And judging by the quality of player they’ve just signed, the delay has been well worth it.
First, the club set the table by announcing the signing of winger Jack Clarke from Leeds United (where he will spend next year on loan). It’s probably a decent enough move, but it’s not one that moves the needle the way their other new transfer will. The big news came when Tottenham announced the signing of Tanguy Ndombele from Olympique Lyon for a club-record €62 million.
Ndombele is exactly the type of player Tottenham need right now, in more ways than one. As an actual player, he is pretty much ideal. The 22-year-old Frenchman is a deep-lying playmaker with already outstanding gifts when initiating attacks with his dribbling and passing range, and has the raw materials to improve on his shaky defensive attributes to one day become one of the best all-around central mids in the world. Tottenham’s midfield has been their most glaring weakness for years now, with the club being either unwilling or unable to sign someone to beef up their ranks there. Ndombele immediately becomes their best and most promising true midfielder, the building block upon which a legitimate title challenger could be formed.
But as important as what Ndombele will do for Spurs’ midfield is, it’s what his signing represents that has to have fans of the club absolutely giddy. The justification Tottenham’s leadership often gave for why the team hadn’t signed anyone for so long was twofold: one, on account of their financial austerity required by their new stadium, and two, because they wanted to focus on signing great players who improved the starting lineup. Tottenham faithful had reason to worry if the day would ever come that the club had the money and the allure to bring in players of the caliber they were reportedly after. In Ndombele, the club has signaled that that day is now.
Ndombele is one of the most promising young central midfielders in the world, and as such was reportedly a transfer target of several of the world’s biggest clubs. That little ol’ Tottenham were able to convince a player of that quality to come to London, and were willing to stump up the cash required to make it happen, speaks volumes to how successful the golden age of Mauricio Pochettino has already been and is the surest sign yet that the club is ready to do what it takes to keep the good times rolling. It’s hard to overstate how much this means for Tottenham. Now it’s just a matter of pushing on in the transfer window from here, and reaping the rewards on the pitch.