Spurs thought they had the new Bale but he became an "awful signing"

Spurs thought they had the new Bale but he became an “awful signing”

Tottenham Hotspur were defeated at home against Wolverhampton Wanderers last time out in the Premier League but Ange Postecoglou will be confident that his side can secure a positive finish to the campaign.

A fast start to the season shredded many pre-season predictions into tatters as Spurs soared into the title ascendancy, but progress has been punctuated by irregularity in form since Postecoglou made history by picking up three successive Premier League Manager of the Month awards across the opening months.

While recent recruitment has been on the money, after a fashion, Heung-min Son is arguably still the finest player on the books, the last of the old guard following Harry Kane’s sale to Bayern Munich last summer.

Signed back in 2015, Son was part of a past wave of investment to bring Spurs to the fore, and while the club enjoyed comparative success during those days, too many signings failed to find even a portion of Son’s success, with Georges-Kevin N’Koudou undoubtedly one of the worst.

When Spurs signed Georges-Kevin N’Koudou

One year before Tottenham swooped in for N’Koudou, they wrapped up the £12m signing of Clinton N’Jie from Lyon for around £12m, the dynamic forward touted for big things.

He fell by the wayside and moved on after only one campaign, replaced by N’koudou in 2016. with the winger completing an £11m move from Marseille, N’Jie heading to the French club on loan before penning a permanent transfer.

Sadly, Tottenham got it wrong on both occasions, with N’koudou, who had scored ten goals and supplied five assists in France the term before, flattering to deceive.

Georges-Kevin N’Koudou’s stats at Spurs

Upon arrival, N’Koudou remarked that former Manchester United phenomenon Cristiano Ronaldo and Spurs stalwart Gareth Bale were among his biggest inspirations, influencing his style of play and playing into the possibility of immense success in north London.

He said: “It’s true that I watched many Premier League games when I was a child as well and I remember a few players that made me want to come here – Gareth Bale for instance, who has played here.

Gareth Bale: Stats per Club

Club

Apps

Goals

Assists

Real Madrid

258

106

67

Tottenham Hotspur

236

71

58

Southampton

45

5

12

LA Galaxy

14

3

0

Stats via Transfermarkt

“There was also Cristiano Ronaldo when he was playing for Manchester United. They inspired me because they play the way I like to – they like to challenge defenders, to dribble.”

And in fairness, N’Koudou did offer such attributes, with his fleet-footedness and explosive qualities a perfect fit for prominence at a team such as Tottenham.

However, the Cameroon international failed to live up to the hype and contributed with just one goal and two assists across 27 games in all competitions, leading podcaster Chris Miller to criticise the “awful signing”, also noting that his woeful return in Tottenham colours “sapped” chairman Daniel Levy.

N’Koudou might have built his career back up now, leaving Spurs for around £5m back in 2019 after a string of unsuccessful loan spells.

This season, in the Saudi Pro League, the Damac FC star has plundered 15 goals and four assists from just 19 league appearances, finally living up to those one-time claims that he was the emulation of Bale that Tottenham so craved.

First Impressions

What did pundits and fans alike think about their new star signing when they arrived? Football FanCast’s ‘First Impressions’ series has everything you need.

Circumstances… differ, certainly, and Levy’s promising-looking transfer business of late might have been conducted with the scars of former misfires such as this one still branded in memory.