Mateo Kovacic Could Be An Ideal Dembele Replacement At Tottenham

It’s not really a secret that Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Mousa Dembele could be leaving the North London club this summer.

The Belgian has only twelve months left on his contract and he’s been heavily linked with moves to China and Italy.

If the thirty year old goes, then Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino will have to replace the gifted middle-man.

He’s one of the players that makes the team tick, just look at Tottenham’s Champions League first leg against Juventus in the Round of Sixteen tie. He was absolutely superb in Turin that night and the Italian champions are now looking at him as a transfer target.

Spurs will have to bring in someone who compliments Eric Dier as the holding players in midfield.

Now Pochettino already has a few options within his own squad.

Victor Wanyama offers a solid defensive presence in the engine room. He’s the type of player that wins the ball for the team and then efficiently moves the ball on to a more creative player. The Kenyan’s season was much hampered by injury last term and that meant that he only started eight Premier League games last season.

Youngster Harry Winks doesn’t win the ball as much but his passing success rate is better and he’ll get the ball in creative areas quicker. He recently signed a new deal at White Hart Lane and that shows you that Mauricio likes him. He was another one that had his season curtailed by injury.

Danish internationalist Christian Eriksen can also be deployed in a deeper role. He completed a few shifts in that position last term, but in truth he wasn’t as influential there as he is on the attacking right-hand side.

If the Spurs recruitment team are looking elsewhere for a Dembele replacement, then maybe they should have a look at Champions League winner Mateo Kovacic.

The Real Madrid midfielder only started in ten La Liga games and the twenty-four year old will be wanting more first team opportunities next year:

“I believe I’ll play more, whether in Real or somewhere else,”

“Now is the time for me to play.”

“Offers? I am under contract with Real and I wish not to comment on other clubs.”

If Real can’t give him the assurances that he’ll be looking for then it might be best for all concerned that the Croatian heads off for pastures new. He will need more starts if he’s to fulfil his potential.

Tottenham and Madrid have a pretty healthy working relationship with each other. Spurs sold both Luka Modric and Gareth Bale to the Spanish giants, so Daniel Levy will believe that Florentino Perez owes him a deal.

For Real Madrid, they might look at it in a positive way of keeping Levy sweet as they eye possible future deals regarding Harry Kane or Dele Alli. Perez will no doubt try and insert a buyback clause in any Kovacic deal.

Tottenham would be getting a very accomplished midfielder, a player that’s familiar with the position and one that’s hungry to prove himself on a more regular basis.

Like Dembele, Mateo is a good transition player that gets the ball out of defensive areas and into the opponents half. The Croat averaged more tackles per game but didn’t make as many interceptions or dribbles.

Kovacic is a very tidy player on the ball, he’s got the skills to keep it in tight positions and the awareness to release effective forward passes. During the last campaign he averaged over 93% in the passing success rate stats in Spain’s top flight.

Spurs supporters adored Luka Modric and I think they’d love Mateo Kovacic if they saw him in a Lilywhites jersey next term.

Big clubs like Juve and Manchester United have been linked with his signature but if Tottenham Hotspur can get a deal done with Real Madrid then I’m sure they can offer the dynamic midfielder as much game time as he wants and that could persuade him that his future lies in London.

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