Tanguy Ndombele is back on French shores and dictating games for Nice

"Before – not after – every player, there is a person," philosophises Franck Haise. The new Nice manager became renowned for getting the best out of players during his time at Lens, from reviving careers such as that of Wesley Saïd, to making them, as he did with Jonathan Gradit and Florian Sotoca, both rose from the depths of amateur football to experience Champions League football in their twilight years.

"There isn't anything magic," says Haise. "I don't have a wand. It's just about creating a relationship." There are plenty of hypotheses as to why Tanguy Ndombele did not work at Tottenham, but perhaps his previous managers' inability to build that relationship was one.

"Tanguy is the guy that you always expect more than what he gives you ... The feeling is that he always has something more to give. He never reaches the limit of effort, sacrifice, and even ambition," was José Mourinho's evaluation of the former France international. Ndombele, over the course of Mourinho's two seasons at Tottenham, featured 57 times in all competitions, but the Portuguese manager could never consistently extract the level of performance that convinced Tottenham to make him their record signing back in 2019.

A series of loan spells – first back to Lyon, where he initially burst on to the scene, then to Napoli and finally Galatasaray – failed to get Ndombele's career back on-track. With one year remaining on his contract, Spurs and Ndombele concluded that the €62m signing was never going to work and both sides cut their losses, agreeing a mutual contract termination.

"Abroad was hard," said Ndombele as he made his return to France, joining Nice on a free transfer. "He made a lot of effort to come here," revealed Nice's sporting director, Florian Maurice. Given the well-documented financial constraints at the INEOS-owned club, Ndombele has taken a significant pay cut to get his career back on-track.

"I wanted to come back to France, where I feel more at ease, and I am also at a stage in my career where I want to play more," said Ndombele. Given his lack of game time last season, he was not expected to feature so prominently at the start of the new campaign, however, he has started in all five of Nice's Ligue 1 fixtures. That comes after just four league starts last season for Galatasaray. The last time he made five consecutive league starts dates back to a spell at Tottenham between September and October 2021.

He is not merely starting games, but dictating them too, as he did in Nice's historic 8-0 victory over Saint-Étienne. The Frenchman netted his first goal for his new club on the night as the Côte d'Azur club celebrated its 120th anniversary. "It is a night that will be engraved in everyone's memory, certainly mine," reacted Haise, and for Ndombele, it was a night that alluded to brighter days ahead.

Just 27 years old, his best days may still be ahead of him. There is certainly an environment more conducive for him to succeed at Nice than there was at Tottenham; some players are not suited to being taken out of their comfort zone, and Ndombele is seemingly one of them.

"He is someone who needs – and he isn't the only one – a climate of trust and that is what we are trying to bring to him," said Haise. "But beyond the atmosphere around the club that has been put in place, it is Tanguy first and foremost who is ensuring that it is going well." The Frenchman ranks third in Ligue 1 for take-ons while also featuring in the top 10 for key passes, fouls drawn and expected assists.

And that flair, which over the course of his demoralising spell at Tottenham fizzled away, is returning. "Little by little, we are re-discovering the player that we knew a few years ago," said Maurice. Without the price tag pressure, back in a familiar environment, and crucially bestowed with the trust of his manager, Ndombele's shattered confidence is being rebuilt.

"What I see from his matches, I think in terms of confidence, it is going pretty well," said Haise. "Confidence comes from working hard, through your investment." Hard work and investment were traits that certainly were not attributed to Ndombele at Tottenham, especially during the Mourinho era, but the former Lyon midfielder has turned the page.

With fixtures against Lens, Paris Saint-Germain, and Real Sociedad all coming up before the international break, tougher challenges await Ndombele – and Nice – but the sprouts of revival are eminent.

Talking points PSG dropped points for the first time this season, against Reims, who are something of a bogey team for Les Parisiens. Thanks to Saturday's 1-1 stalemate, Reims have now secured a draw in four of their last five encounters against the reigning Ligue 1 champions. Ousmane Dembélé's equaliser midway through the second half salvaged a point for Luis Enrique's side after Keito Nakamura's opener. However, just like in their fortuitous midweek victory over Girona in the Champions League, finishing was an issue. Despite Gonçalo Ramos' injury on the opening day of the season, PSG did not dip into the market for a proven goal-scorer and that decision may come back to bite them.

PSG's draw has allowed rivals to bridge the gap. Marseille did so in spectacular style with a 4-3 win in the Olympico. Down to 10 men from the fifth minute after Leonardo Balerdi's red card, OM were proactive in trying to salvage all three points against arch-rivals Lyon. It expected to be a tall order, especially after Duje Caleta-Car gave the home side the lead.

In adversity, two peripheral and unexpected figures came to the fore: Pol Lirola and Ulisses Garcia. The former, unfancied by previous managers, has spent the last two seasons out on loan, while the latter was pushed towards the exit door this summer, just six months after joining. He ultimately remained at the Vélodrome and after Lirola's leveller, he gave OM a shock lead. Rayan Cherki, re-integrated into the first-team setup after signing a contract extension earlier that day, thought he had salvaged a late point off the bench, only for the former Norwich City forward Jonathan Rowe to secure all three points for Roberto De Zerbi's side with a sumptuous effort in the 95th minute. They join PSG at the top of the table with 13 points, although De Zerbi continues to play down talk of a title challenge.

Monaco are also on 13 points after a slightly unconvincing but important win over Le Havre. Six changes were made to the side that had beaten Barcelona in the Champions League on Thursday and Les Monégasques looked disjointed at times as a result. However, maintaining competitiveness in Europe and the league simultaneously has proven difficult for all French teams that do not go by the name of PSG in recent years. Monaco, at this very early stage, are managing to juggle both competitions. "I wasn't happy and it wasn't our best performance but matches after a win in Europe are the most difficult," said Adi Hütter after the 3-1 win over Le Havre. Level on points with PSG and Marseille, Monaco are part of a runaway pack that look a step above all others in the division.