Tanguy Ndombele is training alone at Hotspur Way

If people were entertaining any potential doubts that Tanguy Ndombele’s time at Tottenham Hotspur may not be over, I think it’s safe to put them aside. According to Alasdair Gold at Football.London, the fallout from last weekend’s match is far from over, as Tanguy is now training apart from the rest of the first team due to his actions after being substituted vs Morecombe in the FA Cup.

Ndombele was left entirely out of Conte’s squad for the second leg of the League Cup semis vs. Chelsea, ostensibly at his discretion but with the foreknowledge and blessing of Daniel Levy. “It was a technical decision,” Conte said after the Chelsea match, “but before to take the decision, I don’t take the decision if I don’t consult the club. There is the club line and I have to follow the club line.”

Since Ndombele’s slow walk off the pitch after his substitution against Morecambe, an act that visibly enraged Tottenham’s home crowd, Gold reports that Tanguy has been on the training ground but not participating with the rest of the first team, instead working on his own with a member of Spurs’ sports science staff.

In short, Tanguy’s been Adebayor’d. It’s a similar situation as to what Andre Villas-Boas did with Emmanuel Adebayor in 2013 near the end of AVB’s tenure after the two had a public falling out. Ade was banished to train with the U23s, but made a return to the fold briefly after AVB departed and Tim Sherwood became interim manager.

I can’t really see a way back for Tanguy from this. Maybe he’ll return to full training with the group if this is a temporary punishment, or maybe not. But I think we’ve now officially crossed the Rubicon with him. There are already reports that Spurs are trying to find him a loan, with both Napoli and Roma mooted as possible destinations. I honestly think we’ve probably seen the last of Tanguy in a Spurs shirt.