Tanguy Ndombele has no intentions of playing under Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho

Soon after Tottenham defeated West Ham United 2-0 on Tuesday, shocking reports emerged in France (h/t Metro), claiming that Tanguy Ndombele had told manager Jose Mourinho that he would never play under him.

The 23-year-old Ndombele joined Tottenham last summer in a club-record £55m transfer. After a promising start to life in North London, the Frenchman has struggled to establish himself in the starting XI. Injuries have hampered his development and things have seemingly gotten worse after Mourinho took over in November.

The Portuguese had slated Ndombele in the media prior to lockdown after a lackadaisical performance against Burnley back in March. That remains the Frenchman’s last appearance for the club.

While Ndombele has been part of the matchday squads for the games against Manchester United and West Ham since the resumption of the campaign, he is yet to take the field.

And now, reports in French publication TF1 (h/t Metro) claim that the pair have fallen out and are not on speaking terms. It further adds that Ndombele’s teammates have been mediating between the pair, after Ndombele informed Jose that he has no intention of playing under him in a meeting earlier this month.

Mourinho was asked about the situation after the West Ham game. But the Portuguese denied claims of a rift. (h/t Express)

“On the bench was Tanguy, was [Ryan] Sessegnon, Toby [Alderweireld], [Jan] Vertonghen. Who else? Gedson [Fernandes] and they didn’t play and that’s football. For me, there is nothing.”

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A report from Football.london claims that Ndombele was laid back in his warm-up ahead of the West Ham game and was the only substitute on the bench who was the only outfield substitute not to warm up on the touchline.

It doesn’t mean that things are not okay between him and the manager, but there is no smoke without fire. Mourinho has a history of falling out with players – Iker Casillas at Real Madrid, Paul Pogba at Manchester United. Hopefully, things are not as they seem and we get to see Ndombele’s best in a Tottenham shirt in the coming weeks.