Tottenham team news: Georges-Kevin Nkoudou is still not ready to make his debut, insists Mauricio Pochettino

1/10
Sam Long16 September 2016

Tottenham midfielder Georges-Kevin Nkoudou is still a week away from being considered for selection, Mauricio Pochettino has confirmed.

Nkoudou joined Spurs from Marseille on transfer deadline day, signing a five-year deal at White Hart Lane.

The north Londoners have played two games since Nkoudou's arrival but Spurs fans are yet to get their first glimpse of the 21-year-old, who has already tipped his "explosive" style to be a hit in English football.

And Nkoudou will not be ready to feature in Sunday's Premier League fixture against Sunderland, with Pochettino admitting the midfielder still needs to improve his fitness and language skills.

"It is going well. He is very young, he speaks only French, it's a big problem for him," Pochettino told his pre-match new conference.

"He is learning quickly, but he is still settling into the team. He needs to work more.

"I think maybe he will be ready to be selected next week, maybe but not sure," he added.

Danny Rose has also been ruled out of this weekend's game as the full back is set for another week on the sidelines with the hamstring injury he picked up on England duty.

But Mousa Dembele is available for a domestic game for the first time this season after serving a six-game ban for violent conduct.

Spurs will be installed as clear favourite against the Black Cats, who are yet to win this season, and Pochettino's side could climb into the top four with a victory - if other results also go their way.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in