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Tottenham must be careful with Mousa Dembele’s new deal

By Rucker Haringey

BOURNEMOUTH, ENGLAND - MARCH 11: Mousa Dembele of Tottenham Hotspur during the Premier League match between AFC Bournemouth and Tottenham Hotspur at Vitality Stadium on March 10, 2018 in Bournemouth, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
BOURNEMOUTH, ENGLAND - MARCH 11: Mousa Dembele of Tottenham Hotspur during the Premier League match between AFC Bournemouth and Tottenham Hotspur at Vitality Stadium on March 10, 2018 in Bournemouth, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images) /
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Tottenham can’t afford to overpay Mousa Dembele

There’s no question that Mousa Dembele has been a huge part of Tottenham’s success this season. That doesn’t mean Spurs should cede to his every contract demand though. On the contrary, Mauricio Pochettino and company must be very careful with the talented Belgian’s next contract.

Reports from England claim that Spurs and Dembele have opened negotiations about a new contract that would pay the versatile midfielder over £100 thousand per week. That’s a worrying compensation level considering Dembele’s age and recent injury history.

At his best, Dembele is easily worth that sort of wage packet. He can be one of the most dynamic midfielders in Europe when he’s at the top of his game. His ability to break up play and carry the ball through tights paces make him a very unique player. There’s no one else at Spurs who can come close to filling his shoes.

The trouble is, he’s not the most reliable player in Pochettino’s squad. He can put together a series of three or four great matches and then miss six weeks with a mysterious ailment. I’m not accusing Dembele of being soft, but I am accusing him of being injury-prone. At 30 years of age, the odds favour that condition getting significantly worse over the next few seasons.

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Even with his imperfections, Dembele isn’t a player Tottenham can afford to lose at the moment. As such, it’s smart that the club are engaging he and his representatives about a new deal. They just need to be careful about how they structure his next contract.

My suggestion would be to pay Dembele the wages he’s requesting, but to limit the length of his new contract. A three-year contract paying him £100 thousand feels right to me. Dembele might struggle to provide that level of value at the end of the deal, but he should outperform during the first two seasons.

The worst mistake Tottenham could make would be to hand Dembele a really long contract. Expecting him to be a meaningful contributor to the squad four or five years down the road would be an overly risky proposition. Dembele is more likely to retire at 35 than he is to play great Champions League matches for Spurs.

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In the end, look for Tottenham to be aggressive in trying to lock Dembele down, but only for another couple of seasons. He’s close to the end of his career than his prime. That means Spurs will need to make sure they don’t overextend themselves with too many years for their Belgian star.

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