Lilywhites dud was the next Eto’o when he signed, now he’s a Turkey flop

Tottenham Hotspur are a club famed for its recent failures, with Daniel Levy’s relentless pursuit of silverware culminating in a sharp shift in the club’s mindset.

The chairman was sick of the ridicule, and their lack of trophies was highest on the agenda for things that needed solving. Therefore, the appointments of Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte made sense for that venture, but not for an outfit that had been making steady progress under Mauricio Pochettino, surely closing in on the elite honours.

Levy would admit his mistakes whilst speaking at a recent fan forum “I had gone through a period where we’d almost won. With Mauricio we went through some very good times. We didn’t quite get there but we came very close and we had a change in strategy. The strategy was ‘let’s bring in a trophy manager’.

“We did it twice and look you have to learn from your mistakes. They’re great managers but maybe not for this club. For what we want, we want to play in a certain way and if that means it has to take a little bit longer to win maybe it’s the right thing for us. That’s why bringing Ange in was from my point of view the right decision.”

However, it was not just managerial mistakes that were made, with their ventures into the transfer market hardly proving more fruitful.

Whilst the likes of Moussa Sissoko and Tanguy Ndombele mark two of their more lucrative failures, it could be argued that stars such as Clinton N’Jie marked the larger disappointment, given the excitement his arrival brought.

How good was Clinton N’Jie?

Having emerged as a clinical youngster setting French football alight, it seemed like a major coup when Spurs were the side who managed to snag his services.

After all, the £12m expended seemed like a drop in the ocean to secure ample backup for Harry Kane, as a 22-year-old seemingly set to grow into true competition for their in-form front man.

Especially after he triumphantly declared his loyalty to the Lilywhites, revealing the club that he had snubbed to join the Argentine’s revolution: “I was never scared that my transfer to Tottenham would not be confirmed. I never spoke to Arsenal representatives on the phone, they simply contacted my agent. My choice was made, I was determined to join Tottenham.”

A fine return of seven goals and eight assists in Ligue 1 during the 2014/15 season drew excitement, but it would be a tally he did not even come close to matching during the following two years in north London.

In fact, the Cameroonian forward was only afforded a miserable 14 matches to showcase his worth, to which he unsurprisingly failed. As such, he would fail to score a single goal, assisting only once before moving on. To see such a promising career stagnate under a coach famed for his youth cultivation was desperately disappointing, especially given how the likes of Kane and Dele Alli had flourished under his leadership.

N’Jie was vocal in what he expected upon joining, and ultimately, what he failed to receive: “Here, I will be working under Mauricio Pochettino, a manager who plays youngsters and allows them to progress.”

What was said about Clinton N’Jie when he signed for Spurs?

Given his nationality and the positions he took up, it took little time for the media to latch onto the blistering marksman and begin comparing him to his countrymen. Unsurprisingly, Samuel Eto’o was the first port of call.

The Cameroon legend had starred across a glittering career, enjoying spells with Inter Milan, Barcelona and Chelsea among numerous other huge clubs. Calling time on his period playing, the 42-year-old finished having scored 364 goals and won all manner of trophies, including a truly impressive four Champions Leagues, league titles in Italy and Spain, as well as a host of domestic honours too.

Former teammate Xavi would rush to praise the lethal striker, noting: “Today I do not have doubts. For me Samuel Eto’o is the best striker in the world,”.

Then, even Pep Guardiola would laud his contribution, despite the pair not exactly seeing eye-to-eye during their tenure together: “Incredible player, outstanding striker, one of the best I met and have seen, personality, character, top scorer, more pressure, better performance. I had him for one season.”

So, to see just how outstanding Eto’o became, it marks a laughable notion that sections of the media sought to force the comparisons between him and N’Jie, with The Mirror just one of many outlets suggesting he was the ‘successor to Samuel Eto’o’.

Given the respective careers the two have enjoyed, it is fair to say that the media got this one horribly wrong, with the only real similarity being their shared nationality.

What is Clinton N’Jie doing now?

Seeking to shrug off his Tottenham nightmare, the 30-year-old made a desperate return to French football with Marseille, enjoying limited success – bagging 16 goals in 83 games.

It always felt like that spell in England completely ravaged what was set to be a promising lifespan in the sport, and yet he seemingly holds no grudges: “I do not regret. It’s a choice I had to make. Everyone thought it was a good solution. I gained a lot of experience during this adventure in Tottenham. It has served me a lot for the future and it still serves me. So I have no regrets.”

Even if he now spends his days featuring in Turkey, and struggling at that.

The 43-cap flop has just a sole goal in the Super Lig this campaign, having only scored twice and assisted another two across an entire campaign in the Turkish top flight last term. It outlines a remarkable fall from grace for the forward, who was once regarded among some of the most talented young stars in Europe.

His career has now boasted a pitiful 34 goals across spells in England, France, Russia and Turkey, with the latter two marking a searing indication of the unfulfilled potential.

For comparison, Eto’o would match that tally across all competitions in the 2005/06 season alone, lighting up Spanish football for the Catalan giants, and proving that N’Jie was never likely to emulate the levels he posted.