Ndombele has something Spurs have been missing, says Kane

Harry Kane has backed new signing Tanguy Ndombele to be the final piece in the Tottenham jigsaw as they look to compete for the Premier League title.

The France international joined the club from Lyon earlier this month in a deal worth a club-record £63 million ($79m), eclipsing the £42m ($52m) spent on Colombia defender Davinson Sanchez from Ajax in August 2017.

Ndombele made his Spurs debut as a second-half substitute in Sunday’s International Champions Cup clash against Italian champions Juventus in Singapore and made an instant impact.

Within 60 seconds of coming onto the field, Ndombele set up Lucas Moura to make it 2-2 before Kane scored a spectacular goal from near the halfway line in stoppage-time to seal victory.

The England captain was impressed with Ndombele’s debut performance and believes he brings something to the team that they have lacked in recent seasons as they look to challenge the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City for the title.

"He's been great. He intercepted that ball very well and put it through to Lucas. That's a strength of his, playing that through ball, that forward pass,” Kane told reporters.

"That's something we've missed over the last year or so, that really decisive pass in the final third. He looks like he can do that. With any player who comes in, he's still learning how we play and the way the manager wants him to play. But he's working hard. That's all we can ask for."

As well as becoming their record signing, Ndombele was Tottenham’s first signing of any description since January 2018, when Moura joined from Paris Saint-Germain.

Kane admits that the mere presence of a new player has given the squad fresh impetus as they prepare for the new campaign.

"It's always nice to have a fresh face, new energy, new feelings and he's a fantastic player, who is only going to help us," added the 25-year-old. "We are building a good squad with good depth. These games are great for fitness and integrating young players into the squad. So far, so good."

Tottenham’s next pre-season friendly is on Thursday against Manchester United, also in the International Champions Cup, at the Hongkou Stadium in Shanghai.