Listen to Antonio Conte at more or less any junction since he came into Tottenham, and it is clear the Italian did not rate the squad. Too many players with potential unfulfilled was the general verdict. Not enough quality in the positions that mattered, and nowhere near enough depth in key positions. The arrivals of Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski in the January window has helped to add fresh life to the midfield and forward line. However, some of the players who were not getting games have been loaned out.
And, for once, the report card appears to be mostly positive for a large chunk of the young players who have moved on from Tottenham.
Interestingly, though, despite a good week for the Tottenham loan crew there was no place for Tanguy Ndombele. The Frenchman has moved on from Spurs and is unlikely to ever play for the club again, despite his own comments after leaving. A return to former club Lyon made sense, hoping the midfielder could fatten up his value ahead of a likely permanent summertime exit.
The player has been a regular since returning to France, but was left out of a 4-1 win against Lorient due to muscle discomfort. The Lyon coach, though, was pretty clear that Ndombele would back in the team as soon as his injury issue cleared up. He is expected to take to the field when Lyon take on FC Porto in the UEFA Europa League.
Other Spurs loanees making a name for themselves
One player fans will be keen to see more of in the future would be Bryan Gil. The youngster arrived from Sevilla having taken La Liga by storm during a loan period away from the club. In that time, he showed the league he was a top talent and was linked with FC Barcelona and others. He instead joined Spurs in what now looks like a mistake for all parties, and was promptly sent back to Spain to join Valencia CF.
Los Che are enjoying his presence, with Gil making a huge impact on the team since he broke through into the first team. His performance in the Copa del Rey semi-finals, which Valencia won, was very impressive indeed. So, too, was his ability to get past his man and dribble to get Los Che back up the pitch.
Giovani Los Celso, though, did not enjoy a good week – his team, Villarreal, lost to struggling Osasuna and also Lo Celso himself did not play well. He played 77 relatively anonymous minutes before being dragged off. Other players including the likes of Pape Sarr and Jack Clarke were also getting game-time, though in the case of Sarr he lost 1-0 and was not up to much.
One loanee enjoying a great time is Cameron Carter-Vickers, with the big USMNT international scoring in midweek for Celtic and then putting in another imperious performance in a 3-1 win at Livingston. The Bhoys had not win at Livi since Henrik Larsson was a player for the club, which goes to show how impressive the win was.
For Spurs, then, the usual cadre of loanees are, for once, making a name for themselves. Who knows? Some might even give Conte something to think about next year.
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