Gallery: 5 possible replacements to finally fill Mousa Dembéle’s shoes

Mousa Dembéle, ‘collective sigh’, universally agreed to be one of the most talented players to ever grace the Tottenham first eleven and arguably the most underrated midfielder in world football.

His transfer to Guangzhou R&F in the 2018/19 January window left an enormous hole in the Tottenham squad that is still to be filled. This summer, reports have come in thick and fast surrounding potential targets for multiple positions in the starting 11.

Described as both a tank and a ballerina (The Guardian), Mousa Dembéle has been a sorely missed member of the Tottenham camp, despite their success in 2018/19. With that in mind, we’ve looked at five potential replacements to attempt to recreate the magic of Moose.

Tanguy Ndombélé

Tanguy Ndombélé
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If you haven’t been living in a cave, then you may have seen Tottenham heavily linked with Lyon Midfielder, Tanguy Ndombele (L’Equipe).

Capped four times already for Les Bleus, Ndombele appeared 44 times in all competitions for Lyon last season.

The 22-year-old imposes himself in Ligue 1 with pacey dribbling and elite passing, but that’s not all he has in his kit bag.

Ndombele’s defensive output is impressive considering his raw age, averaging 1.9 tackles, and 0.9 interceptions over 31 appearances in Ligue 1.

These stats increase dramatically in the Champions League to 2.4 and 1.5. The Frenchman, it seems, is not afraid to step up on the big stage. His distribution is elite, and it’s where his true skill lies.

Ndombele averages over 53 passes per game in all competitions with an 89% completion rate, higher than Christian Eriksen.

He also averaged more passes in the final third than any other player in Ligue 1. His attacking output could afford to increase, scoring just 3 goals last season.

Valued at around £58.5million (transfermarkt), he is the most expensive player on our list, and Tottenham will have to work hard to bring him in, but would benefit greatly from a player of his calibre in their ranks.

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