Why Manchester United must avoid signing Tanguy Ndombele
According to the Daily Mirror, Manchester United have joined the race to sign young French midfielder Tanguy Ndombele.
The 21-year-old, who plays for Lyon, is seen as one of Europe’s most talented young midfielders and he’s broken into the French national team in recent months. His progress has not gone unnoticed and as per the report, Manchester United had sent scouts along with Chelsea to catch Tanguy Ndombele in action against Hoffenheim in the UEFA Champions League.
The French midfielder played 90 minutes for the visitors and scored as the game finished 3-3 last week. He also helped Lyon beat Manchester City at the Etihad earlier in the season.
Ndombele, 21, spent last season on loan at Lyon from Amiens and made the switch permanent in the summer. Now with the Frenchman garnering a lot of interest from some of Europe’s elite clubs, should Manchester United make a move for him?
Ndombele spent his youth career with EA Guingamp and SC Amiens respectively before sealing a one-year loan move to Lyon in the summer of 2017. After impressing in his loan spell, Lyon decided to secure his services permanently. And the 21-year-old has repaid manager Bruno Genesio’s faith in him by putting in some impressive displays during this campaign.
The youngster is a box-to-box midfielder, defined by strength and game-reading abilities. Ndombele is a midfield powerhouse who is not only adept at cutting out the attacks but also contributes to the build-up play from the middle of the pitch. To go with his tackling and interceptions, the France international is also blessed with a wonderful technique and fantastic engine.
With 17 points from the first 10 games, Manchester United are eighth in the table and already nine points off the top. The Red Devils have not had a good start to the new season, with Jose Mourinho already suffering defeats against Brighton, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham so early in the campaign.
Mourinho clearly needs to add at least a couple of players to his squad to challenge for the title. And the signings should be in the defensive areas as United’s defence has flopped so far this season.
The Portuguese manager should avoid bringing in a new midfielder as he already has the likes of Nemanja Matic, Paul Pogba, Scott McTominay, Fred, Ander Herrera and Andreas Pereira in his ranks.
Given that United already have a plethora of versatile midfielders who are capable of playing in multiple positions, it would make no sense for Mourinho to add another central midfielder.
As things stand, signing Ndombele would jeopardise the position of all the aforementioned players at the club. Not denying the fact that Ndombele is one of the rising stars of French football but he could likely take time to adjust to the demands of the Premier League if he seals a move to United.
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For now though, Mourinho must prioritise strengthening his defence in January and avoid splashing money on Tanguy Ndombele.