‘Abroad was hard’ – OGC Nice’s Tanguy Ndombélé ‘more at ease’ in France

At his official unveiling as an OGC Nice player, Tanguy Ndombélé (27) has admitted that he found his time away from France “hard” as he prepares to return to Ligue 1.

Ndombélé left Olympique Lyonnais back in 2019. At the time, he became Tottenham Hotspur’s record transfer, however, he never succeeded in living up to expectations. In recent years, he has been loaned out, to Napoli, back to Lyon, and more recently, to Galatasaray.

‘I arrived [at Nice] tired’

Following the conclusion of his most recent loan, Ndombélé and Tottenham chose to terminate the final year of the France international’s contract, allowing him to sign for Nice on a free transfer. Earlier this month, Ndombélé was unveiled to the press, where he admitted that his time away from France was difficult.

“I wanted to come back to France where I feel more at ease. I am in a period of my life where I want to play,” began the former OL midfielder, who will fill the void vacated by Khéphren Thuram, who joined Juventus earlier this month.

He added, “I am coming off the back of multiple difficult seasons. I arrived tired. Coming here, I trained on my own […] abroad was hard but it is a part of my story,” said Ndombélé, who is now looking to put his difficult spell at Tottenham behind him and help Nice secure another European qualification this season.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle