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Mousa Dembele’s disappointing performance in the 2-1 defeat to Watford in Tottenham Hotspur’s previous Premier League match suggested that his time as a regular starter for the north London outfit is coming to an end, with the search for his long-term replacement surely already underway.
Known for his quality on the ball, strength and his ability to dribble and get himself out of tight situations, he will leave a huge void in the middle of the park for Spurs, who face leaders Liverpool at Wembley on Saturday, when he eventually does leave.
While he was heavily criticised by his own supporters on Twitter following a below-par display against the Hornets earlier this month, he will still undoubtedly go down as a club legend – at least in the modern era.
Mauricio Pochettino may well already be thinking about possible players that could come in and strengthen his side’s midfield, and perhaps he should be taking a closer look at one of Dembele’s Belgium teammates in Youri Tielemans, who currently plies his trade for Monaco in Ligue 1.
The 5ft 9in tall ace started alongside Axel Witsel in the middle of the park for Roberto Martinez’s men as they beat Iceland 3-0 in their latest UEFA Nations’ League fixture, and he made a big impact.
The 21-year-old, who earned a move to France following an outstanding 2016/17 campaign for Anderlecht in which he scored 18 goals and provided a further 15 assists in 53 appearances in all competitions, showed his quality in his nation’s latest success.
A passing accuracy of 86% shows the quality he has on the ball, while the fact that he made two key passes and produced six accurate long balls proves he would make a difference in the final third for Tottenham.
Meanwhile, he didn’t shirk his defensive responsibilities either – as Dembele mustn’t do under Pochettino – making four tackles and producing two clearances, as per WhoScored.
The fact that Tielemans plays for Monaco means that he shouldn’t cost an extortionate fee, and he looks to have all of the ingredients to be the club’s ideal Dembele successor.
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