The saga regarding the future of Mousa Dembele has taken a big twist as Inter Milan have joined the race to sign the Tottenham Hotspur midfielder. The 30-year-old is expected to leave the club in the summer as he will be entering the final year of his contract and the north London club has placed a price tag of £26m on the Belgian midfielder.
Dembele has been a crucial player for Spurs in the last few years, however, Mauricio Pochettino and company haven’t been able to tie him down and they might have to sell him in the ongoing transfer period or otherwise they risk the chance of losing him for free next year.
Inter Milan are said to be keen on landing the midfielder, however, they won’t be able to muster up and pay £26m as they have to comply with Financial Fair Play Rules. As a result, they want to lure the 30-year-old midfielder by offering Spurs a player plus cash deal for Dembele and the player involved is said to be Portuguese midfielder Joao Mario who impressed in his loan spell at West Ham United last season.
Milan are willing to offer £10m and Mario to land the 30-year-old midfielder and the offer will certainly be tempting for Spurs board and management team. The risk value for Tottenham has further come down as Mario looked adept at handling himself in the Premier League as he did a good job for the Hammers in the second half of the season which ensured their safety in the top flight.
Dembele made 38 appearances in all competitions last term and was an important player in Pochettino’s setup. The midfielder has been constantly linked with a move away from the club for quite some time now and a move to China looked likely at one point in time. But now with Serie A giants Inter Milan entering the race, the battle to sign the midfielder has become more interesting.
Even Spurs offered Dembele an extension so that they can have him at the North London club for another year or two. However, the contract negotiation between the club and player has reached no fruitful end and it is likely now that he will be sold in the summer.
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The deal in the offing is surely tempting and they might just accept it as Mario is just 25 and is currently in the prime of his career. Spurs are losing Dembele but they are also being handed a like for like replacement for the player. However, it remains to be seen whether the move will go through and whether Mario will be able to impress in his time at the White Hart Lane.
