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Tottenham manager must move on from the genius of Dembele

By Rucker Haringey

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 20: Mousa Dembele of Tottenham Hotspur in action during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea at Wembley Stadium on August 20, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 20: Mousa Dembele of Tottenham Hotspur in action during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea at Wembley Stadium on August 20, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images) /
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Tottenham must slowly transition away from Mousa Dembele

Mauricio Pochettino is right to admire the way Mousa Dembele can play football. When he’s fit and firing, he’s truly one of the best midfielders in Europe. Unfortunately for the Tottenham gaffer, Dembele’s body is starting to fail him.

That unfortunate reality means that Pochettino needs to start preparing for life without the Belgian midfielder. He’s going to be a very difficult man to replace. After all, Pochettino regards him as a footballing “genius.” Those sort of players don’t exactly grow on trees.

Dembele has already deteriorated to the point where Pochettino has to carefully manage his minutes on the pitch. The player himself has already admitted that he’s never going to be 100% again. At some point, his lack of availability is going to increase to the point where Spurs will need to find other options.

That day could arrive much sooner than most Spurs fans are expecting. In my mind, Dembele is just one serious injury away from seeing his performance fall off a cliff. Would you really back him to fully recover from a broken foot at this stage of his career? I certainly don’t wish that on the Belgian star, but it’s a risk Tottenham must consider carefully.

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In fairness to Daniel Levy and company, their midfield cupboard certainly isn’t bare. Dembele already rotates with Eric Dier and Victor Wanyama for two defensive midfield spots in Pochettino’s lineup. Harry Winks is also knocking on the door of meaningful first team football. The Academy also boasts prospects like Tashan Oakley-Boothe who could emerge as first team players before Dembele becomes unplayable.

Even so, Spurs would be naive to sit back and count on internal replacements to fill such a large void. The club will need to closely monitor the transfer window over the next year in hopes of purchasing a reasonable replacement. The club likely won’t be able to afford a fully developed replacement. Instead, look for Spurs to spend a reasonable amount of money on an up-and-coming star they believe Pochettino can mold into a world-class midfielder.

Next: Tottenham transfer target off to horrific start

Tottenham fans need to enjoy watching Mousa Dembele play great football while he still can. The days of his peak football are coming to an end sooner rather than later. It’s time for Pochettino to start making plans for life without his Belgian star.

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