“I said to him to stay calm, stay patient” Sissoko reveals how he helped Ndombele

Moussa Sissoko took Tanguy Ndombele under his wings when the former Lyon man joined Tottenham in 2019.

Both being French, it was easier for Ndombele to relate with the midfielder, and the former Newcastle man has opened up on playing his role in getting his compatriot back to form.

Ndombele joined Spurs after they had lost the Champions League final to Liverpool, and he was expected to help them go that one step further in the next campaign.

But he found life in the Premier League very tough, and his poor form was one of the reasons why Tottenham didn’t exactly get going at the start of that campaign.

Mauricio Pochettino paid for their poor form with his job, and he was replaced by Jose Mourinho.

Life was even harder for Ndombele at the start or Mourinho’s reign and he almost left the club in the summer.

However, he remained with them and he has turned his form around. Sissoko admitted that Ndombele struggled in the new country when he first moved in.

“Everyone can see what Tanguy is doing at the moment,” he told Spurs’ official website as quoted by Football London.

“Of course, last season was a tough season for him. I can say that’s normal, because when you are a young player and you change countries, you go somewhere where you are living alone and don’t speak the language, everything is different, even the league, where you play, you need time to adapt.

“That was my case as well, when I first came to Tottenham.”

On helping the midfielder, Sissoko added.

“I said to him to stay calm, stay patient, and just to work hard in training and try to understand everyone here

“Everyone knows he has talent, and everyone is sure he will perform.

“You can see this season that he’s showing a lot of quality on the pitch and we are all happy to have Tanguy in that form.

“I think he will even improve during the season, but what he is doing and showing is good at the moment.”