- Jan 20, 2013
- 11,816
- 13,655
Have quite come to like the guy after his performances last season after being so adamantly opposed to him being included whatsoever until then. Not sure what clicked in him (maybe his hip into cooperating), but he just became a monster last year and a real foundation for how the teams were asked to play.
However, while his contributions are still well-valued (thoroughly enjoyed watching him and Wanyama utterly dominate that pitch last week), I don't think he's as essential as he was last year. Wanyama provides much of what Dembele does in providing a foundation, and Winks provides much of the forward thrust (with more creativity and incision, albeit with a loss of pitch control). I can definitely see us keeping hold of Dembele for the remainder of this season, Poch continuing to prime Winks, and making the sale in the summer. That would be a lot of money for a guy of this age with fitness concerns, and I think the squad, in light of its recent development, could manage the loss.
However, while his contributions are still well-valued (thoroughly enjoyed watching him and Wanyama utterly dominate that pitch last week), I don't think he's as essential as he was last year. Wanyama provides much of what Dembele does in providing a foundation, and Winks provides much of the forward thrust (with more creativity and incision, albeit with a loss of pitch control). I can definitely see us keeping hold of Dembele for the remainder of this season, Poch continuing to prime Winks, and making the sale in the summer. That would be a lot of money for a guy of this age with fitness concerns, and I think the squad, in light of its recent development, could manage the loss.