Tottenham may have a decision to make on Tanguy Ndombele this summer.
According to Sky Sports, Barcelona have offered us Nelson Semedo and Samuel Umtiti in exchange for the 23-year-old Frenchman who has been earmarked as a key player at Spurs, but failed to show it in his first season.
MORE: Sky Sports Reported Deal For Ndombele Could Actually Pan Out
Ndombele clearly has bags of talent so it would be a gamble letting him go only to watch him become one of the best midfielders in the world in Spain.
One of the attractions about cashing in on Ndombele early is that he isn’t settled in yet, and I don’t mean physically or from a lifestyle perspective, but a tactical one. We don’t yet know what his role is. Can he play in a two? Can he be the deepest sitting midfielder? Can we get him in the same team as Giovani Lo Celso and Dele Alli, with them all in their best positions?
The swap deal with Barca, especially if there is room to negotiate on who comes our way, may give us more options than we have with Ndombele.
Here are five ways that we could lineup if a deal was to materialise…
(For the purpose of this exercise no other potential new signings will be included in these teams – only Barcelona players who have been touted).
Jose’s most common formation has been 4-2-3-1 or a 4-3-3 variation with the No.10 dropping in as the extra man. This is how we could line up if we swapped in Umtiti and Semedo, making the defence look that little bit more error proof. But it wouldn’t improve us enough to risk selling Ndombele.
World Cup winner Umtiti is a bit crocked these days, and I’ve seen some fans touting Brazilian midfielder Arthur as a more attractive makeweight. He would certainly be an upgrade on Harry Winks and with that swap, the front six looks pretty good, if not a bit lightweight for a typical Jose side.
Philippe Coutinho would be the player that I’d demand if Barcelona were serious about signing Ndombele. A trio of Coutinho, Dele Alli and Son Heung-min behind Harry Kane would rival any attack in the Premier League, although they’d be drawing straws to see who plays on the right.
Moving away from four at the back, an extra defender here would make up for the lack of physicality in the midfield, without a recognised sitter, without reducing the goal threat. This system also arguably best suits our two top kids – Ryan Sessegnon and Japhet Tanganga. (Notice how Semedo is always one of the swapees because I am desperate not to have Aurier.)
Now we’re talking. Coutinho in his best position, Dele playing narrow off the right, close to Kane, and leaving room for Semedo to bomb forward as Jose’s advanced right-back. I still look at the defensive spine with some concern – and that could be addressed with the money this swap saves us elsewhere – but I look at that side and think I’d sacrifice Ndombele for it.