According to DH (h/t Sport Witness), Mousa Dembele is ‘at a standstill’ in contract negotiations with Tottenham and could be in his ‘last season under Mauricio Pochettino’. The Belgian international is out of contract next summer and reportedly wants a payrise to stay past 2019. Tottenham, however, are unwilling to meet his demands and could let Dembele leave when the season comes to a close.
The midfielder’s injury problems are said to be the reason why Spurs won’t hike his salary, as Dembele has missed 74 Premier League games since making the 2012-move from Fulham. This season, the 31-year-old has made 13 appearances in all competitions but has been absent for seven league outings. Dembele is currently out with an ankle injury and isn’t expected back until January 2019.
Pochettino will need to replace the Belgian should he leave Tottenham next summer which is why the club are being linked with so many centre-midfielders ahead of the January transfer window. For now, the Lilywhites will resolve the problem with internal solutions, calling upon Eric Dier, Moussa Sissoko, Victor Wanyama (when fit) and Harry Winks to feature in the engine room.
With no new deal on the horizon for Dembele, however, it appears Tottenham will have to cope without him.
Crippy Cooke’s previous article
Tottenham interested in Frenchman, all-rounder could replace Mousa Dembele