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Reported Tottenham Hotspur target Tanguy Ndombele started Lyon's Champions League last 16 first leg tie at home to Barcelona on Tuesday night, and he excelled.

Sky Sports said back in the summer that Spurs were keen on the midfielder, and in December they reported that the north London outfit have been tracking the impressive 22-year-old this season.

However, a January move was ruled out as the Frenchman was keen to stay with the Ligue 1 outfit at least until the end of the campaign, as per Sky Sports.

The hosts knew that they needed a positive result against the La Liga leaders on Tuesday to remain in the tie ahead of the second leg at the Camp Nou next month, and that meant that their key players such as Ndombele needed to turn up.

The France international didn't let his manager or the fans down in that respect as he stood tall against some of the world's best players in Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Ivan Rakitic as Lyon secured a goalless draw.

Not only did the man in the middle of the park show his defensive strengths by making three tackles and two interceptions, but he also showed how he dictates the play for his team having had more touches (81) than any of his teammates against Barca.

Perhaps most impressive was the success Ndombele had when in possession though, as he successfully completed five dribbles and was accurate with all three of the long balls he produced during the encounter against the Spanish giants.

The likes of Harry Winks, Moussa Sissoko and Oliver Skipp may have come to the fore for Tottenham this season when Eric Dier, Victor Wanyama and the now departed Mousa Dembele were suffering from injury issues, but you can't help but feel they are still missing something in that area.

That is something Mauricio Pochettino may well look to put right this summer, and with the links to the Lyon man refusing to go away, the 22-year-old midfielder who has so many strings to his bow has just proven once again that he could be their dream addition.