Tottenham currently in pole position to sign Tanguy Ndombele

Tanguy Ndombele is quite clearly one of two top targets for Tottenham Hotspur in this summer’s transfer window along with Real Betis’ Giovani Lo Celso, and two English newspapers are reporting that Spurs are currently leading the race for Ndombele’s signature. Both Dan Kilpatrick in the Evening Standard and Miguel Delaney in the Independent are reporting that Tottenham are currently in the pole position to sign the Lyon central midfielder, and that Spurs are increasingly confident that they will be able to strike a deal with the Ligue 1 club.

If you’re looking for a spot of pessimism (and if you’re reading this, you’re probably a Spurs fan so of course you are), it’s this — while Ndombele would be very open to a move to the Premier League, both reports state that his preference is a move to either Barcelona or Real Madrid, all else being equal. That’s pretty much an “of course he does” kind of statement, as who wouldn’t want to play for one of the two biggest clubs in world football. Delaney notes that Madrid could look at Ndombele as a cheaper, third option if they decide to abandon their pursuits of Paul Pogba and Christian Eriksen.

Barcelona and Manchester City are also options but appear to be only “monitoring the situation” at present. Juventus appears to be the other club most interested in Ndombele, with Gianluca DiMarzio reporting that the Serie A club apparently has agreed personal terms with him, but there are doubts as to whether they would be able to afford his fee.

Both articles suggest that Pochettino is confident about his ability to persuade Ndombele to join his new five year project, and that the transfer fee is mostly just haggling and negotiations at this point. That could change if one of the big clubs comes swooping in at the last moment, and Ndombele doesn’t appear to be in a hurry to make a decision on where he wants to play his football next season.