Tottenham did not fare well when it comes to the 2016 summer signings. Even though the club are actively involved in strengthening the squad, only a handful of players have turned out to be good signings. Georges-Kevin N’Koudou is one of the summer signings who has failed to establish himself in the first team. As a result, transfer rumours are intensifying about an impending return to France football for the 21-year-old.
A report from Daily Mirror has claimed that the 21-year-old is a potential transfer target for his old club, Nantes.
With the names like Vincent Janssen, Victor Wanyama, Mousa Sissoko, and Georges-Kevin N’Koudou coming to the club for a combined €85 million, Spurs have been expected to have incredible strength in depth. However, it has not been the case with only Victor Wanyama managing to establish himself in the first team. Vincent Janssen has failed to score from open play this season, while Sissoko has failed to live up to his huge price of € 35 million.
However, the biggest disappointment may be N’Koudou. Signed from Marseille on transfer deadline day, N’Koudou was expected to be the versatile winger who could go on and replace names like Son and Erik Lamela should those players get injured. At 21 years of age, he had a lot of time left to fulfil his potential. Tottenham have had huge success when it comes to signing players at a young age, but N’Koudou may be a case of a move too soon.
Even the manager Mauricio Pochettino recently admitted that the players needed time to settle at the club, it looks like Tottenham will agree the possibility of letting him leave – at least on a temporary basis – in order to help rediscover his confidence. N’Koudou has made only five appearances in the Premier League with all of them coming as a late substitute. He is yet to score a goal in 12 appearances across all competitions with his only impact being an assist in the FA Cup.
N’Koudou came through the ranks at Nantes before moving to Marseille in the summer of 2015 for around €1.5 million. Even though he has been at Marseille for only one season, it was a campaign to the member for the 21-year-old as he made 41 appearances in all competitions and scored 10 goals. There are also 5 assists to his name. Undoubtedly, this form was a major factor in convincing Spurs to make the move for the player. Even though the English and the French leagues are largely similar in terms of the physical standards, N’Koudou seems to be struggling with consistency.
The Frenchman has also not been helped by Tottenham being in impeccable form, which makes it difficult for the manager to drop the players who are doing well.
