da wazamba: It’s fair to say that the jury is still out on Tanguy Ndombele at Tottenham.
da aposte e ganhe: The Frenchman has endured a roller-coaster ride since arriving in north London from Lyon last summer, with injuries restricting him to just 29 appearances across all competitions.
And with Spurs boss Jose Mourinho not shy in criticising his sub-standard performances in public, there have been reports in recent months that Ndombele could even be heading for the exit door just a season after joining.
Now, Serie A giants Inter are the latest team to be linked with a swoop for the midfielder, with Corriere dello Sport (via Calcio Mercato) claiming that Spurs would be open to a swap deal if they could land either Milan Skriniar or Marcelo Brozovic.
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And if the Lilywhites could lure the latter to north London, then they could have the kind of creative maestro to run things in the middle of the park.
Rated at £43.2m by Transfermarkt, Brozovic has been mostly used in a more defensive-minded role for Inter, but has still managed to score three goals and provide five assists.
The Croatian can dictate the tempo of the game, and is at his best when controlling the action. As per Whoscored, he has averaged a whopping 65.1 passes per game in Serie A, at an extraordinary passing accuracy of 89.8%. This is a player who Mourinho can rely on to keep things ticking over, and find the likes of Heung-min Son and Harry Kane in more advanced areas.
And judging by the kinds of comments that his managers at both club and international have said about him, and it’s clear to see why Daniel Levy should be prioritising him this summer.
Croatia manager Zlatko Dalic declared: “He is very important to us in the game, he is very calm and his technique is perfect. Through him we can easily get out of the opponent’s pressing”. And Inter boss Luciano Spalletti hailed: “Brozovic is one who has a compass in the foot, knows football, has clean passages and find the free man”.
Both Dalic and Spalletti paint a picture of just how much of a technician Brozovic is, and it’s exactly why Spurs and Levy should forget about Ndombele, and bring the Croatian in to north London.