Noel Whelan has urged Tottenham to cut their losses on Tanguy Ndombele and sell the Frenchman now instead of allowing him to negatively affect other players at the club.
The Frenchman is out of favour under a new manager for the second season running and it now seems he might truly be a problematic player.
When he was out of the first-team picture under Jose Mourinho last season, some fans thought the former Chelsea boss just didn’t like him.
He eventually fought his way back into the plans of the current AS Roma manager.
However, he has started this season under Nuno Espirito Santo on a similarly poor note.
The new boss has kept him out of his plans for the team since the start of this campaign and the midfielder might have a negative effect on others.
Whelan admits Ndombele is very talented but insists that Tottenham would be better off selling him now.
“It’s someone who doesn’t want to be at the club, he’s already asked to leave,” he told Football Insider.
“I find it very difficult to see how you can keep someone like that at the club.
“You want that togetherness in your squad, and Nuno will want that as well.
“If a player’s not happy and he doesn’t fit into the squad, you have to get rid.
“You don’t want any negativity surrounding the players who are there fighting for that badge.
“Clearly, he’s not interested in fighting for his place or being part of that squad.
“It can have a negative impact on the whole squad, and right now it seems like he is separated from the first team.
“It’s the right thing to do.
“It isn’t an easy decision because he’s a quality player on his day, but sometimes you have to cut players loose.”