What's new

Mousa Dembele

Johnny J

Not the Kiwi you need but the one you deserve
Aug 18, 2012
18,117
47,878
I hope we don't replace Dembele with Barkley.

They are radically different players. Barkley is a CAM for a start.

We need to replace Dembele with a box to box central midfield player. Someone who can tackle, press, can run all day along with a decent range of passes. This is where we need to spend the big bucks in the summer.

Not saying I don't want Barkley. He'd be a good squad option further forward but i'm not keen on him as a CM. I'd rather Alli play there than him.
Maybe we'd play better with a more attacking player next to Wanyama.
 

'O Zio

Well-Known Member
Dec 27, 2014
7,405
13,785
Regarding the AC Milan rumour re Dembele...Marcotti was on the radio last week saying they are in financial difficulty and if they do not re finance some loans they are in danger of being taken over by a hedge fund who funded the purchase by some Chinese. The hedge fund would then put the club up for sale again. They have spent a lot of money recently so cannot see them coming up with a suitable offer. No one seems to know who the Chinese owners are. Journalists have traced their head office which is some empty offices somewhere in China. I doubt Daniel will be dealing with them

I said it right when the takeover happened and I'll say it again - I wouldn't be surprised if Milan don't exist in their current form in 10 years time. The new ownership thing is an absolute shit show and that's only the stuff we know so fuck knows what they've ballsed up behind the scenes.

Long story short, the reason the takeover took so long to go through was because once everything was agreed, suddenly the Chinese said "Err...well sorry Silvio but we don't actually have enough money to pay what we agreed" so they then went around desperately trying to find more investors but nobody wanted to touch them with a barge poll because they seemed very dodgy. As a last resort, they ended up getting the rest of the money from a notorious US-based vulture fund, who are pretty much just loan sharks with nice suits, at an absolutely extortionate interest rate and with a hard deadline to pay back the money very shortly (I can't remember exactly but it might be as soon as the end of the season). Their plan was that in the meantime they'd find more investors and use their money to pay off the loan, but at the time of writing, still nobody wants to touch it with a barge poll and they've blown all the money they had left on a lot of expensive signings over the summer. Plus, like you say, nobody can seem to figure out who the fuck these people are and where they get any money from. The whole thing is dodgy as fuck and they clearly don't know what they're doing.

Basically what's not unlikely to happen is they can't pay back this loan, the hedge fund takes over the club. They'll then more than likely strip it of its assets etc. to get their money back and the club would go bankrupt. Basically, barring some kind of miracle, I can see Milan doing a Fiorentina and just going bust and restarting as a new club at the bottom of the pyramid.
 

DCSPUR

Well-Known Member
Apr 15, 2005
3,918
5,415
I love Dembele, but when was the last time he strung a run of games together? Even not playing regular and just covering injuries etc he can't be relied upon. As long as we were to bring someone else in to replace, i'd let him go for a decent fee. Heart would say keep him, but my head would definitely win out and let him go.
disagree with you mate. You need a mix of people in a squad and believe Dembele still offers a lot in three areas:
1. games when he is fit he makes a difference
2. good personality to have in the squad...GOAT references
3. developing Josh O etc
 

Guntz

Loves a good meme/gif
Aug 15, 2011
7,271
54,780
Anything over £25m we should take, He'll be 31 in July and his body won't be able to sustain the required level we need.
 

nedley

John Duncan's Love Child
Jul 28, 2006
13,941
28,069
I can't imagine getting mega money for him.

More likely to go on loan.
 

'O Zio

Well-Known Member
Dec 27, 2014
7,405
13,785
I can't imagine getting mega money for him.

More likely to go on loan.

I agree with you on the first part but why do you think he'll go on loan? We should either keep him or sell him, loaning makes no sense at all. It's not like he's wanting more game time but can't get in the squad - he's part of our first 11 when fit but the problem is he seems to be crocked now and can only play 70 mins a week, if that. Also if we've decided to get rid, his value is only going to decrease while he's away on loan because he'll just be getting older, so we'd get even less for him after the loan finished.

Like I say, loaning just makes no sense to me whichever way i look at it unless I'm missing something?
 

gavspur

Well-Known Member
Jun 24, 2004
5,255
8,686
He's not the same players he was for us 1-2 years ago due to injury, unfortunately. Unless it was a really good offer, I'd keep him here to help out with attitude and experience, something we are lacking in.

I think Poch knew this would happen, that's why he was dead set on getting Barkley in the summer, with talk of playing him deeper. He has strength, he can keep the ball, he's probably a better forward passer and more of a goal threat too.
 

tiger666

Large Member
Jan 4, 2005
27,978
82,214
He's not the same players he was for us 1-2 years ago due to injury, unfortunately. Unless it was a really good offer, I'd keep him here to help out with attitude and experience, something we are lacking in.

I think Poch knew this would happen, that's why he was dead set on getting Barkley in the summer, with talk of playing him deeper. He has strength, he can keep the ball, he's probably a better forward passer and more of a goal threat too.

Dembele has been here 5 years and scored 7 goals. He isn't a goal threat at all.
 

The Doc

Well-Known Member
Dec 18, 2012
881
2,456
I hope we don't replace Dembele with Barkley.

They are radically different players. Barkley is a CAM for a start.

We need to replace Dembele with a box to box central midfield player. Someone who can tackle, press, can run all day along with a decent range of passes. This is where we need to spend the big bucks in the summer.

Not saying I don't want Barkley. He'd be a good squad option further forward but i'm not keen on him as a CM. I'd rather Alli play there than him.

Dembele was playing as an attacking mid when he arrived (and formerly at Fulham). AvB moved him back deeper alongside Sandro. I reckon Barkley could do the same.
 

C0YS

Just another member
Jul 9, 2007
12,780
13,817
I can see him wanting to go to Milan. His time with us is limited as he cannot be relied upon fitness wise and at his age he would see the Italian league as an opportunity to play at a slower pace more suited to his style (quite a few players play until their mid to late 30s in seria a) and with Milan, possibly the chance to win some medals (more likely than in England at the moment with the level of competition and the likely dominance of City for the next few years).

I do hope however he can wait until the summer as I think we need the bodies, but if he wants to go we can't (and shouldn't) force him to stay
Mate we are much much closer to winning things than Milan are right now. That club is a mess at the moment. Such a shame, last season they were so promising! They are a brilliant example of how bad ownership and spending money you can't afford can kill a young and promising team that Milan were last season.
 

C0YS

Just another member
Jul 9, 2007
12,780
13,817
Dembele was playing as an attacking mid when he arrived (and formerly at Fulham). AvB moved him back deeper alongside Sandro. I reckon Barkley could do the same.
That's just not true Jol turned him into a deep lying midfielder and played him along side Danny Murphy it was his form there that earned him a move here.

Would of been a strange move to bring him in as an attacking midfielder considering we bought both Sigg and Dempsey in that window (and bought in Holtby for good measure in Jan). He was bought to replace Modric, and that is who he replaced in the first team.
 

baldinyid

Well-Known Member
Oct 21, 2005
212
397
If it were my choice I'd be keeping dembele regardless of injury history in recent times. It's no coincidence that in the Spurs YouTube videos a lot of the players talk about how good he is.... if we can keep him and get 15-20 games out of him a season then I'd prefer that rather then getting 20 odd mil for him.

We need experienced players with good attitude.
Football is a squad game and you need players that are happy to come in when needed.

Never have a seen a player lose the ball as little as he does, just amazes me.
 

Twizzle

The Alpha Male
May 25, 2008
4,955
4,735
There is no mention of Moose on the Red and Black forums. I doubt there i anything in this.
 

The Doc

Well-Known Member
Dec 18, 2012
881
2,456
That's just not true Jol turned him into a deep lying midfielder and played him along side Danny Murphy it was his form there that earned him a move here.

Would of been a strange move to bring him in as an attacking midfielder considering we bought both Sigg and Dempsey in that window (and bought in Holtby for good measure in Jan). He was bought to replace Modric, and that is who he replaced in the first team.

All about opinions, but I recall Jol stating in interview that he wanted Dembele to play with Berbatov (at Fulham). Tbh, Dembele can play anywhere, so he may well have been deeper there too. Don't think he was AvB's (or my) idea of a Modric replacment though. That was supposed to be Moutinho (allegedly). Expecting Dembele to do anything remotely similar would suggest a thought process akin to selling Carrick and replacing him with Zokora, and expecting the same outcome.
 

THFCSPURS19

The Speaker of the Transfer Rumours Forum
Jan 6, 2013
37,886
130,485
http://www.skysports.com/football/n...c-milan-both-keen-on-tottenhams-mousa-dembele

Internazionale, AC Milan both keen on Tottenham's Mousa Dembele

Internazionale and AC Milan are both keen on Tottenham midfielder Mousa Dembele, Sky Sports News understands.

The Belgium international, who turns 31 this year, has entered the last 18 months of his Spurs contract and struggled with injuries this season.

Spurs are unlikely to let him leave in the January window but Sky Sports News reported in December that they have begun scouting for his long-term replacement.

They have been watching the 24-year-old France international Geoffrey Kondogbia, who has been having an excellent season on loan at Valencia from Inter.

Lorient's French youngster Matteo Guendouzi is also being monitored but Manchester City are another club keen on the 18-year-old. Spurs have also watched Lille's Yves Bissouma and Ajax starlet Frenkie de Jong.
 

Cravenspurs

Well-Known Member
Jul 31, 2011
2,864
3,680
http://www.skysports.com/football/n...c-milan-both-keen-on-tottenhams-mousa-dembele

Internazionale, AC Milan both keen on Tottenham's Mousa Dembele

Internazionale and AC Milan are both keen on Tottenham midfielder Mousa Dembele, Sky Sports News understands.

The Belgium international, who turns 31 this year, has entered the last 18 months of his Spurs contract and struggled with injuries this season.

Spurs are unlikely to let him leave in the January window but Sky Sports News reported in December that they have begun scouting for his long-term replacement.

They have been watching the 24-year-old France international Geoffrey Kondogbia, who has been having an excellent season on loan at Valencia from Inter.

Lorient's French youngster Matteo Guendouzi is also being monitored but Manchester City are another club keen on the 18-year-old. Spurs have also watched Lille's Yves Bissouma and Ajax starlet Frenkie de Jong.

That Ajax link is interesting. A name I haven't seen mentioned when the young Ajax talent keeps being brought up. We seem to think it is Kluivert. I really like the look of this kid. More of a box to box mid with the ability to use both pegs.

Especially with the idea that Watford link being most likely Richarlison, I could see the Ajax deal being more of a midfielder verse the young winger in Kluivert.
 

THFCSPURS19

The Speaker of the Transfer Rumours Forum
Jan 6, 2013
37,886
130,485
That Ajax link is interesting. A name I haven't seen mentioned when the young Ajax talent keeps being brought up. We seem to think it is Kluivert. I really like the look of this kid. More of a box to box mid with the ability to use both pegs.

Especially with the idea that Watford link being most likely Richarlison, I could see the Ajax deal being more of a midfielder verse the young winger in Kluivert.
Hercules mentioned Kluivert by name.
 

Colston

Well-Known Member
Jul 28, 2013
670
847
Only my opinion but if we got a good offer for MD we should snap it up smartish.
Agreed! Awesome player but unfortunately I don't think he'll ever get back to his best and stay injury free for any extended period of time.
 
Top