It felt necessary. Back to back 17th placed finishes in the Premier League were completely unacceptable and something needed to change.

While Jan Paul van Hecke, Marcos Senesi, Tosin Adarabioyo and Andrew Robertson arrived in defence, the headline makers were in midfield and attack.

In the middle of the park, £85m was spent on Mateus Fernandes and a club-record £100m will be going to Newcastle for Sandro Tonali.

The last time the Lilywhites spent such a big amount in midfield was on a certain Tanguy Ndombele. Like Tonali and Fernandes, he had all the quality to become one of the leading players in the division but it did not pan out that way.

Why Tottenham signed Ndombele

Daniel Levy's work at Tottenham isn't always appreciated by fans and for good reason. For so long, Spurs have been a laughing stock, seen as the bottle jobs. Remember when Igor Tudor was asked about the term Spursy? Well, that's exactly what they've been over the last decade.

During that time, the club's recruitment simply hasn't been good enough. On paper, it looks better this summer, but time will tell with regards to how successful it all turns out to be.

During Levy's later years, it was certainly not a success. Ndombele is perhaps the most prominent example.

Signed for a then club-record fee of £55m in the summer of 2019, he looked like the dream replacement for Mousa Dembele who had moved to Chinese shores.

Technically exceptional, graceful in possession but a powerful ball carrier, the Frenchman looked like modern football's perfect midfielder. Think of the qualities Declan Rice brings to Arsenal. He was an all-action box to box superstar who looked tailor-made to star in the Premier League.

Yet, he never settled in north London for a variety of reasons.

What went wrong for Ndombele at Tottenham

Throughout 91 appearances in Spurs colours, the midfielder only scored ten goals and registered nine assists. Sure, the former Lyon star was not signed specifically for his ability to contribute in the final third but given the sheer amount of money spent on his signature, fans understandably wanted more from him.

Injuries certainly did not help Ndombele's time in the English capital, missing a whole host of games courtesy of a groin issue. However, the primary problem for the now 29-year-old was that he did not work hard enough. Something was off with his attitude.

Never one to let a player coast through training and matches, Jose Mourinho was one who notably critiqued him. "We had to start with him as a No 10," the Special One once explained. "He didn’t have the discipline, the strength or the stamina to be a midfield player."

Subsequent loan spells with Lyon, Napoli and Galatasaray saw him struggle to live up to those dizzy £55m heights too and when he returned to his parent club in the summer of 2024, his contract was cancelled. Spurs never made any money back in what was a disastrous transfer for Levy.

Unfortunately, back in the modern day, an Ndombele repeat looks as though it is on the cards.

Who is Tottenham's modern-day Ndombele?

Tottenham's recruitment has been rotten for years. The summer after welcoming Ndombele to the club, Spurs signed Giovani Lo Celso, Sergio Reguillon, Matt Doherty and Pierre-Emilie Hojbjerg.

A year later they signed Bryan Gil and Emerson Royal, as well as recruiting Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur. The following season was a little better but still incredibly hit or miss.

Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie penned terms, as did Yves Bissouma, Djed Spence and Richarlison.

Romero and Spence left north London behind this summer to the tune of a combined £59m. That's good business. Spurs should be commended for that.

However, what they should not be commended for is the signing of Richarlison. The Brazilian cost a whopping £60m from Everton in the summer of 2022 after a campaign in which he had netted 11 goals for the Toffees.

The forward, sadly, has never kicked on and the nadir of his time at the club has now been reached.

Last term, he was actually one of the few positives as Spurs nearly suffered relegation. He ended the campaign as their top scorer on 12 in all competitions. It's not a jaw-dropping amount but without him, they'd have been worse off.

Worryingly, the attacker has never been consistent at Tottenham and there lies the biggest problem. In 2024/25, the 29-year-old scored just four Premier League goals. In his debut year, he netted just once in the league. It simply hasn't been good enough for a long period of time.

In pre-season, it looked as though he may have turned a corner. He was Roberto De Zerbi's top scorer with three but then came the final burst of recruitment in the transfer window. Savio, Omar Marmoush and Mykhailo Mudryk all joined.

As a result, Spurs wanted rid of his £90k-per-week and £4.6m-per-year salary. In total he has burned the club of a staggering £78m since joining.

He's the modern-day Ndombele alright, and the next part of the story really rubberstamps that statement.

A deal had been agreed for him to join Everton in the final week of the window. Iliman Ndiaye was ready to head in the opposite way. However, he ultimately joined Manchester City.

Richarlison had another opportunity to leave, this time to Trabzonspor, but a deal could not be agreed before the closure of the Turkish transfer window.

Unfortunately, this is all unravelling in rather similar circumstances to Ndombele. Like the Frenchman, much was expected when he arrived but there hasn't been a single stage in his Spurs career where he's convinced.

Now, he faces leaving Tottenham on a free transfer, just as Ndombele did. Speaking before the club's game with Nottingham Forest on Saturday, De Zerbi said: "At the beginning of pre-season I spoke to Richarlison and asked him if he wanted to extend his contract because I was happy to keep him with us and Richarlison said no. So I'm sorry for him but we have to go to another page."

Well, that appears to be it then. Excluded from the club's Premier League squad and with his contract set to expire in the summer of 2027, it would be a surprise if we saw him in Spurs colours again. It's Ndombele all over again.