Scout: Clinton Njie should never have moved to Tottenham

by Graeme Jackson

Monday Feb 26, 2018. 14:00

Scout Patrice Girard, who unearthed Cameroon attacker Clinton Njie, believes the player should never have moved to Tottenham Hotspur.

The Premier League side signed Njie from Olympique Lyon in 2015, but he found playing time hard to come by and moved back to France, initially joining Olympique Marseille on loan in 2016 before signing permanently at the start of this season.

The 24-year-old Indomitable Lions player now finds himself frozen out of the first team at OM under manager Rudi Garcia and his career is in a downward spiral.

"The problem is that if he does not play, he cannot score. At home, he scored in the CFA and the pros because he played, that's all. Remember the trio he formed in 2015 with [Nabil] Fekir and [Alexandre] Lacazette, they set everyone on fire,” Girard told Le Phoceen.

"If there had not been this offer of Tottenham, he would still be a starter here.

"At OM, in the spirit of Garcia, he is not a starter, he plays when [Valere] Germain or [Florian] Thauvin need to rest. That is the problem. And since Clinton is so respectful, he's not one to hit the table, he stays in this vicious circle."

Njie has scored six in 16 Ligue 1 appearances (just seven as a starter) this season.