‘I think he’s excellent’ – Hutton suggests why Spurs are linked with midfielder

Alan Hutton believes that Jose Mourinho might have identified Marcel Sabitzer as his ideal number ten after trying a number different players in the role this season.

Jose Mourinho used Tanguy Ndombele in the number ten role during the first few months of the campaign but the Frenchman has since operating more deeply, usually starting alongside Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg in the middle of the park.

Erik Lamela has also been deployed in the role while Lucas Moura has shown over recent weeks that he can also be dangerous playing behind the striker.

In Tottenham’s last two Premier League games, Jose Mourinho has started Carlos Vinicius upfront which has allowed Harry Kane to drop into the hole.

The North Londoners have been backed to make a summer approach for Sabitzer, with the midfielder set to run into the final year of his contract with RB Leipzig at the end of the season.

Reports indicate that Spurs are already laying the groundwork to pull of a potential deal for the 27-year-old in the summer and Hutton believes Sabtizer would the ideal candidate to solve Tottenham’s creative issues.

When asked about Tottenham’s pursuit of the Leipzig star, the former Spurs defender told Football Insider: “He’s a fantastic player. I managed to watch him a few times against Tottenham and I think he’s excellent.

“It’s a lot of money, but I think it’s probably an area where Mourinho’s identified he wants somebody in. Whether that means Dele Alli moves on, he’s tried Lucas Moura in that number 10 role too.

“He’s tried Ndombele there, he’s tried all sorts of different options in that position and it hasn’t really worked. Maybe Mourinho sees him as the suitable replacement for all of them that’s going to make the team better.

“Maybe he’s seen this Sabitzer guy, seen him up close, come up against him and thinks: ‘This is the guy. He’s got all the qualities I want in attacking midfield.’

“Whether it be £35million, one year, two years left, he sees it as that’s the guy he wants.”

Spurs Web Opinion

With Dele Alli struggling to get into the side, we have lacked enough goals from midfield this season to take the pressure off Kane and Son. With Dele potentially on his way out of the summer, it is not surprising that Spurs view Sabitzer as an ideal replacement as the Austrian could be available relatively cheaply due to his contract situation.

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