Tanguy Ndombele has struggled in his debut season at Tottenham (Getty Images)
According to Sky Sports, Barcelona have offered Samuel Umtiti and Nelson Semedo in exchange for Tottenham midfielder Tanguy Ndombele.
Spanish giants Barcelona are planning to add some physicality to their midfield ahead of next season and have identified Ndombele as a potential target. However, Tottenham’s £54million summer signing has had a difficult first season in England since moving from French side Lyon.
The 23-year-old midfielder’s spell at Spurs has been hampered by a series of injuries, restricting him to a mere 19 league appearances. After a stellar show with former side Lyon last season, helping them to 3rd place in the league table, Ndombele has failed to live up to the expectations since arriving in North London.
Ndombele had earlier earned himself a big-money move to Tottenham after impressing for Lyon with 3 goals and 8 assists last season. Despite his average displays this season, the versatile Ndombele has still emerged as a potential target for Barcelona.
Samuel Umtiti has spent the major portion of his time at Barcelona on the sidelines due to injuries. This saw him fall down the pecking order under former boss Ernesto Valverde. However, Umtiti seems to have regained his confidence, appearing in four of their last five league outings.
Portuguese right-back Semedo, on the other hand, has made 21 appearances but is still rated second to academy graduate Sergi Roberto. Like Umtiti, Semedo has also not enjoyed a successful campaign with the Spanish giants despite joining them in the summer of 2017.
With both the defenders having a troubled time so far, Barcelona have now decided to swap them for the services of Tottenham’s Ndombele.
Tottenham are in need of some established defenders, with the side struggling at 9th place in the league this season.
Also, the centre-back and right-back role have become problematic positions for Spurs, with the side lacking depth there. Tottenham are set to lose veteran centre-back Jan Vertonghen, with his contract expiring this summer.
Meanwhile, the Lilywhites just have one right-back in Serge Aurier, who has failed to impress Jose Mourinho. With the side clearly in need of players in these two roles, Barcelona’s new offer seems to have come at the exact time.
Moreover, they need not worry about losing Ndombele, with the side well stacked in the midfield. They have as many as eight midfielders in their side and plenty of back-up even if they lose the Frenchman. Hence, Tottenham should go ahead with this deal and strengthen the areas that really need to be reinforced.
At the moment, Tottenham’s major concern should be to bolster their weak defence that has conceded 40 goals from 29 league games. So they should prioritise this and land Umtiti and Semedo rather than keeping Ndombele with them.
