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ENIC must now be worried they’ve signed another Ndombele at Spurs

Published

4 hours ago

23 December 2025

ENIC must now be worried they've signed another Ndombele at Spurs

Last week, it was made known that Thomas Frank had sat down with ENIC Group and left that meeting with the backing of the Tottenham Hotspur board.

But, since then, the Londoners have fallen to another home defeat, this time against struggling Liverpool, and the pressure is unquestionably cranking up. Still, pundits like Jamie Redknapp have reiterated the stance that the Danish coach needs time to right the many wrongs down N17.

Redknapp is right, and Tottenham’s star players need to step up. However, with the defenders leaving much to be desired, who is it within the Lilywhites squad who has what it takes to step up and guide the squad back to the forefront of Premier League football?

Who can lead Frank’s Spurs side to success

In recent years, Tottenham have lost Harry Kane and Heung-min Son to overseas moves. It’s difficult to argue that such talismanic figures have been effectively replaced.

Now, new stars need to step up. Whether Cristian Romero is the one to lead the charge is open to debate, with the Argentine skipper sent off after kicking out at Ibrahima Konate at the weekend.

Spurs need players to step up, leading the club to success after a first half of the 2025/26 campaign that has underlined the fact that there are too many pieces of driftwood about Frank’s outfit.

Too often, Spurs have launched big-money bids for the likes of Richarlison and Dominic Solanke. Both arrived to the tune of £60m or so, and it’s hard to argue that either striker has been a bona fide success.

The worst of the lot would have to be Tanguy Ndombele, who was the club-record arrival when he joined from Lyon for £63m in 2019.

Journalist Paul Brown called the lazy France midfielder “one of the worst signings Spurs have ever made“. It would be hard to replicate such a dismal deal, but ENIC Group may be worried they have done exactly that this summer.

ENIC must worry they’ve signed Ndombele 2.0

The Lewis Family didn’t enjoy a flawless summer transfer window by any stretch, but there’s no question that the likes of Mohammed Kudus and Xavi Simons arrived as talented additions capable of driving Tottenham back into the domestic ascendancy.

Simons, 22, joined Tottenham from RB Leipzig for an initial £51m fee this summer, and his arrival caused a fanfare, given Chelsea had shown a vested interest for many months before.

However, it’s been tough for the Dutchman to adapt to the pace and physicality of the Premier League, with content creator Ronaldo Brown even asserting that he has been “swallowed” in the English top flight this season.

Having started to kick on, Simons lunged too far against Liverpool, receiving red in the first half after a studs-up challenge against his Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk.

Branded for a moment of “reckless stupidity” by Sky Sports co-commentator Gary Neville, Simons will know miss a crucial run of fixtures after a recent uptick in form, scoring his first goals for the club in December and maintaining promising creative levels.

There’s nothing wrong with Simons’ application, but his over-zealousness and high technical bar suggest he may well have a bit of Ndombele-itis about him, and this is something that Frank will need to swiftly fix if his project is to be a success, having worked with the board to secure this coveted playmaker for a hefty fee.

After all, Simons ranks among the top 10% of positional peers in the Premier League this season for passes attempted, the top 6% for progressive passes and the top 14% for tackles per 90, as per FBref, so he’s got the fullness of skillset to succeed.

A pass is considered progressive if the distance between the starting point and the next touch is at least 10 meters closer to the opponent’s goal or any completed pass into the penalty area.

However, it could be said that the same was true for Ndombele. He’s one of the most technically gifted players we’ve seen in Spurs colours this decade, but the application of his skillset was too inconsistent. He became an easy scapegoat and his time in the capital ended in tears and with a hefty dent in the club’s wallet.