Daniel Levy isn’t usually lauded for his emotional intelligence yet if Spurs are seeing the best of Tanguy Ndombele now, it may well have much to do with their chairman. Towards the end of his first season, in 2020, the club’s £53million record signing was called in to see Levy.
Levy was straight to the point. ‘Tell me, give me the story of why it’s not working?’ said the chairman. By degrees, Levy and player liaison officer Roberto Balbontin cajoled and encouraged the young Frenchman. ‘I’m not concentrating as I should be,’ conceded Ndombele. ‘I’m not 100 per cent.