da pinnacle： Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho faced the potential of squad unrest last month, it has been revealed by The Athletic’s Charlie Eccleshare.
What’s he said?
da dobrowin： The Spurs boss’ comments on club-record signing Tanguy Ndombele caused a divide of opinion amongst the dressing room after he twice commented on the 23-year-old’s injury situation in the public eye.
Following the New Year’s Day defeat to Southampton, Mourinho described the Frenchman as “always injured” before adding fuel to the fire several weeks later by suggesting “he was not injured but not feeling in a condition to play” after defeating Brighton & Hove Albion.
It has now been divulged that several members of the squad were unhappy with his remarks, whilst others were supportive, thus causing a split of opinion.
Eccleshare said this week:
“Publicly calling Ndombele out did not go down well with some members of the squad, The Athletic understands. Those uncomfortable about it felt that Mourinho would have been better off dealing with the issue privately and that it should have been more of a discussion between the head coach and the club’s medical staff.
“Others at the club, however, were supportive of Mourinho’s position and felt concern at Ndombele’s lack of conditioning and general fitness levels.”
Charlie Eccleshare, The Athletic.
Divisive figure
It’s not the first time that the £55m midfielder has caused a divide at Spurs as fans have been regularly discussing his impact – or lack of – this campaign.
Many were pointing out his lack of fitness against Southampton in their FA Cup fourth round replay this week while some saw the long-term potential in his locker.
His performance against Norwich City, the game in between Mourinho’s two remarks, also drew serious praise on social media with supporters talking him up.
Eccleshare even alludes to members of the Spurs hierarchy being of the same belief as the fanbase as neither party can work out the puzzling debate surrounding the box-to-box midfielder.
Ndombele has played 22 matches this season but has averaged just 54 minutes per game, even despite starting 15 times, per Transfermarkt.
Mourinho’s erratic nature in the press often leads to him becoming a viral figure on social media, but as seen with this debacle, it could potentially toy with the harmony amongst his Spurs squad as well.
And in other news, Spurs chasing Serie A hotshot once likened to former target Pablo Dybala…