Mauricio Pochettino has warned Tottenham fans they could have to wait two years to see record signing Tanguay Ndombele at his best in England.

The Frenchman, who became the first senior arrival in the Tottenham squad since Lucas Moura in January 2018 when he moved from Lyon for £55.5million in July, impressed in the 5-0 Champions League win over Red Star Belgrade.

Pochettino, however, has cooled excitement around the impact the 22-year-old could make when Tottenham face Liverpool on Sunday. The Argentine often warns that it can take a minimum of six months for players to adapt to his intense style of training and playing, citing the examples of Heung-min Son and Moussa Sissoko, who both faced being sold before becoming integral players in north London over the past 18 months.

Ndombele has started all but two of the 10 games he has been involved in for Tottenham so far this season, with Pochettino stating after his Premier League debut that he was only operating at 30 per cent of his potential. The midfielder has featured far more than fellow summer arrivals Giovani Lo Celso and Ryan Sessegnon, who have both struggled with injury, but Pochettino is hesitant to judge any of his new charges for some time.

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"We cannot assess him [Ndombele] enough to say he is doing well or not so well," Pochettino said. "For me it’s fantastic the things he adds to the team, I am so happy with him like I am so happy with different players.

"Still for me, when you sign a player, despite the amount you pay, with the profile of Tanguy Ndombele or Giovani Lo Celso or Ryan Sessegnon you need minimum one year and a half, or two years. Look at what happened with Son or Sissoko, they started to perform in year two, year three. That is why when you are so young… today the market is the market, you cannot judge the player because you paid some kind of amount. He played two years in Lyon and moved to England where everything is new, but the quality is there. They need time to show their real quality."

The three new faces joined their teammates and coaching staff for dinner at Mayfair's Novikov restaurant on Thursday night, and Pochettino - who for once was not the one footing the bill - was thankful for the invite and said a night out as a squad will bring long-term rewards.

"We spent a few hours there but [it was] nice to be together and to see each other in different environment always helps achieve a positive dynamic," Pochettino said.

"You cannot measure how much it will help, 20 per cent, 30 per cent. In the dynamic of the group, this team bonding, for different players or the new players, makes the group stronger. It’s not the same, here on the training ground it’s a routine, when you go away from the training ground it’s a different type of relationship and it can help on the pitch, When we work on team bonding it is to generate something between us in the group to help us to perform and fight to help your team-mates because you know them better. These things are always a positive and never a negative."

On Sunday, Tottenham meet Liverpool for the first time since they lost June's Champions League final to Jurgen Klopp's side with no more than a whimper. While the dust has settled and the landmark of reaching a first final in the competition can be seen in a positive light for the club, inside the dressing room there is still a feeling of emptiness driving the squad forward.

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"It was tough. The last game of the season, the final of the Champions League is all or nothing and it was nothing in the end," said Pochettino. "To be second for us, because we are so competitive in football, is nothing. It means a lot for the club to reach the final of the Champions League but the players and staff felt empty after the game. With time you can say, ok we played in the final of Champions League but we didn't win and that will always be with you.

"It’s good thing for us that the players still feel disappointed with the final. In football you can play another final or play another game but you'll never play the same game or the same final again. That's why it’s important for the young players to realise that to give everything every day and then if you lose it's part of the day and you can never regret.

"In football it's more important than in life. In football sometimes we don’t realise that when the day is gone you cannot recover it. It’s so important because you need to build your performance every single day. Today you need to think that you can arrive in the final of the Champions League. You need to be ready, but to be ready for the Champions League final at the end of the season you need to be ready today and care if you work so hard. That's the most difficult thing."