Noel Whelan has rubbished the talk doing the rounds claiming that Tanguy Ndombele doesn’t have the engine to last the whole 90 minutes of matches.
The Frenchman hasn’t completed any league game that he has started for Tottenham this season.
His only two 90 minutes of action have come in the Europa League and the Carabao Cup.
He is one of the most energetic members of the Tottenham midfield and his speed on the ball helps the team to make decisive moves fast when they have possession.
He starts his games well and does a lot of running around and hassling the opponents, but he seems to tire out before the 90 mins are up.
Mourinho has been substituting him when he appears to be tired, but Whelan says he doesn’t get removed because he is tired but because Tottenham has many good players to replace him with.
“I think there’s no doubt he can get through 90 minutes,” Whelan told Football Insider.
“It’s about what he’s on the field for, the amount of quality he can bring in certain times during the game and maybe they need some extra legs and a little bit more dynamic players out there because it’s demanding.
“It’s a demanding game 90 minutes now, in the Premier League, and it might be a tactic that Jose Mourinho wants – give a really good 70 minutes, the last 20 are for somebody else.
“We saw him make changes the other, Moura coming on, Bergwijn going off, they’ve got an abundance of quality at Tottenham, this squad is fantastic, it really is. It’s competitive, it’s full of international quality.
“There’s no doubt they’re going to be up there, they’re not going away, Tottenham, they’ll be there all season and the demands from Jose Mourinho will demand that. I think the mentality has changed at Tottenham as well so I don’t think we need to question Ndombele not concluding 90 minutes.
“I think tactically Jose Mourinho knows what he’s doing, don’t you worry. He’ll get the very maximum out of a player, when you see a little bit of a dip, not in fitness but that bit of quality when legs are tired, you’ve got to make the change.”
Man was telling me all the youngsters in there love watching him train. All amazed by him.