Welcome to All Football Scouting Report, in here we will take you a closer look at world's promising stars. Tanguy Ndombele, the Lyon midfielder has impressed across France's top-flight, as well as Europe, over the past twelve months. Man City, Barcelona, Man United, Real Madrid... which could be his next station?
Manchester City, particularly Pep Guardiola, was quoted as being a huge admirer of the 21-year-old - with his attempts even more pressing having missed out on Jorginho to Chelsea. Now though, it appears he's not alone. Barcelona, United among big clubs are interested in making a big-money move for his signature
Who is Tanguy Ndombele
The 21-year-old, who was playing in the second division until the summer of 2017, was named in the world champions' squad after an injury to Corentin Tolisso of Bayern Munich - the man he replaced at Lyon.
Ndombele helped Amiens win promotion from Ligue 2 in a dramatic 2016-17 season - with two points separating the top five teams.
After two matches in Ligue 1, he joined Lyon on deadline day in 2017 in a loan move with an option to make it permanent for 10m euros (£8.75m), a move they unsurprisingly took up.
So, how has he improved so quickly?
After joined Lyon from Amiens, he was able to continue developing without much fanfare over his performances, as supporters were naturally interested to see how he'd settle into their existing setup - but equally knew that he was essentially there on a prolonged trial basis.
It didn't take long for him to impress, either. He made his Ligue 1 debut in mid-September and never looked back since, making 47 appearances (all competitions) last term. Hindsight is often a wonderful thing but inserting a future fee of €8m looks increasingly naive on Amiens' part, although they could never have predicted his market value to have skyrocketed as quickly as it has.
His move into France's top tier was a seamless transition and Ndombele embraced the challenge alongside better team-mates, who were always going to help him develop. It made sense then, that in addition to club training, he also experienced similar treatment at international level - earning his first under-21 caps in the same month.
Strengths
Often described as a mix among Mousa Dembélé, Yaya Toure & Kante, Ndombele is blessed with the physical attributes to be a nightmare for opposition players.
In addition to this, he has excellent close-control dribbling, attacking intent and is capable of driving forward with possession as he attempts to create chances in the final third when possible.
With excellent balance and close control, he stands out for his dribbling skills and clever first touch to evade his marker. Among Ndombele's many strengths is his ability to spot teammates' runs, finding them with measured passes around the box.
To reach the highest level and be regarded a world-class player, he must be more consistent. That, again, is evident this season, having impressed against Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain in recent weeks - Lyon's two biggest games of the campaign to date.
(Like Fernandinho, Ndombele offers a physicality, aggression and athleticism Guardiola considers vital, as well as good positional sense, distribution of the ball and overall game intelligence)
He is capable defensively as he is in attack, intelligent enough to know when risks are worth taking and you can draw parallels to N'Golo Kanté's rise.
Both players began their professional careers in Ligue 2 but developed, the Chelsea has definitely benefited from playing alongside better teammates and against tougher opposition - something Ndombele is experiencing himself now.
Weaknesses
Admittedly, he's not the most graceful, mainly because he plays at such a quick tempo. Sometimes, this does backfire. His decision-making in goalscoring areas of the pitch has been erratic at times, though it's an area of his game that he has been gradually improving - four assists in nine Ligue 1 fixtures this term justifies that.
Where would he fit in?
Considering the way he has handled the step up at Lyon, Ndombele could be challenging for a first-team place in the Premier League next season should speculation linking him with a move to Arsenal come to fruition.
Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester City are among the long list of clubs reported to have watched the midfielder in Ligue 1, with Barcelona & AC Milan also keen admirers of his talent.
Why are European sides circling for his signature? What does he offer?
As a genuine box-to-box midfielder at a time when there's often indecision on whether to describe players as one, he'd prove an invaluable figure for whoever is lucky enough to secure his services. It seems only a matter of time before he does depart Lyon, provided it's the right transfer fee from their perspective, after the Nabil Fekir fallout over the summer.
Questions will be asked over his suitability to England's top-flight, but he's more forward-thinking than Tiemoue Bakayoko - who joined the league for hefty transfer fee over the past summer window. It's easy to see how he'd settle in at Barcelona, as their playing style compliments his, but there's no reason why Ndombele cannot remain patient before choosing his next move wisely - becoming the next world-class player to break out from France.
Tanguy Ndombele 2018-2019 - Crazy Skills Show
This browser does not support the video element.
Noaaokialex
247
why described him as the next Kante? Aren't their shadow the colours, or whatever? Can't named him as the next pogba as he might like to join old Trafford?
lawcdiklrt
199
of course if this guy goes to city he will eat the bench.because all Africans knows pepe, is not interested to Africans players.
Christopher_Robin
71
He can maybe perform like Kante...but he can't smile like him😄
EpaphrasDaniel
69
When Man City fans realize they're closer to 5th than 1st
dezcdkst
55
United is the best place for him to play a constant football.
Nesaiknruy_Legend
54
Anyway this kid plays like Bakayoko when he was at Monaco. Nothing like Kante....
Caschaual
50
He is such a talented defensive midfielder and he has become one of the most important parts of Lyons team. And Lyon habe a lot of talented players. Psg needs a defensive midfielder, so it would be a good business to invest in him. Man City have Fernandihno who is world class, but he is aging. So for them this would be a wonderful transfer as well. For Barca, you can say the same thing. Busquets is amazing, but he is getting old. Hopefully, Ndombelé will become "the next Kanté".
kancdeuz
15
thats why pep is best in the world 😂 he wants to buy players after players to win league ...never seen him transforming average team into world class .....he just buy players thats all ....barca bayern city ....
Biekmnps
14
Guardiola can never use him. Everyone knows that Guardiola is a racist that guy is a black.
ABenC
12
He could be a future star waiting to be reckoned with, just like Salah, just wish him choose wisely and all the best in his next endeavour. Keep it up.
Worlase
12
Pep developed Busqets, Pedro, and Thiago. Remember he was the youth team coach before being promoted to the top job and he brought them up to join the senior team. He’s improved Sterling too. So he just doesn’t buy
Sauzor
11
manchester united would be the best place with his strength he can play as a cdm as Matic would prolly retire by next season or should be benched as he is growing old and pace does matter. moreover the trio of ndombele, pogba and fred would lead a superb mid. In chelsea he would be placed in rotation and in Mancitu he would fit in good as well. But manchester united need players more now. And for ac milan with the run of form he wont go there(unless qualify for UCL) and dont want him to lose his touches under velverde.
Pakacmptuy
10
He is a rising young talent. He has shown great qualities. He showed in his Champions League games vs Man City that he will be a great player in the future. The club who gets him first will be very lucky. He will be a grat fit for Man City but I want United to get him because atic is very old and he can replicate Matic in a more modern way. Matic is getting old and Fele is average on most occasions.