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Tottenham preparing another Ajax swoop for Dembele replacement

By Rucker Haringey

SWANSEA, WALES - JANUARY 02: Mauricio Pochettino, Manager of Tottenham Hotspur arrives for the Premier League match between Swansea City and Tottenham Hotspur at Liberty Stadium on January 2, 2018 in Swansea, Wales. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)
SWANSEA, WALES - JANUARY 02: Mauricio Pochettino, Manager of Tottenham Hotspur arrives for the Premier League match between Swansea City and Tottenham Hotspur at Liberty Stadium on January 2, 2018 in Swansea, Wales. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images) /
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Tottenham are interested in Frenkie de Jong

Pretty soon, Ajax officials are going to ban Tottenham officials from entering their grounds. Spurs are set to return to their fertile transfer hunting grounds to acquire Mousa Dembele’s long-term replacement.

The latest object of Pochettino’s affection is Ajax star Frenkie de Jong. Unfortunately, Dutch officials seem to believe a January move for the 20-year-old midfielder is impossible. As such, Spurs will need to wait until this summer to bring him to North London.

I tend to believe that when a Premier League club decides it wants to acquire a player immediately, they generally can make it happen. As such, Spurs fans shouldn’t rule out the possibility of seeing de Jong arrive this month.

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Ajax certainly want to hold on to him, but Tottenham have succeeded in convincing the Eredivisie power to part with high-end talent ahead of schedule before. Davinson Sanchez, of course, is the latest example of dealings between the two clubs.

The real question is whether or not de Jong is prepared to make an impact in England. His performance this season for Ajax have been highly encouraging. He’s notched an impressive seven assists in just 15 Eredivisie appearances this season. De Jong isn’t a natural goal scorer, but that’s not what Tottenham need to add to their defensive midfield.

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It would be unfair to think of de Jong as a like-for-like replacement for Dembele. They are drastically different players. At his best, Dembele excels when shielding his back four from the opposition. De Jong, in sharp contrast, prefers to operate higher up the pitch with time and space on the ball. Given Victor Wanyama’s presence in the squad, it seems obvious that Tottenham are in the market for a more offensive-minded partner for Pochettino’s double-pivot.

As always, Tottenham’s chances of signing de Jong will come down to finances. Ajax won’t demand a fortune, but they won’t be taken advantage of in the transfer market either. A bid of somewhere around £25 million would likely be enough to get the deal done.

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With that being said, expect Spurs to look hard at other targets first. De Jong would be a terrific buy for the future, but he’s not the readymade Dembele replacement that Pochettino would really like to add this month. If Tottenham sign de Jong in January, they’ve likely missed out on several more established targets.

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