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Why Tottenham’s €40m summer target could be the ideal replacement for this ageing flair star

Why Tottenham must sign Amadou Diawara to replace Mousa Dembele

Tottenham Hotspur were interested in signing Napoli midfielder Amadou Diawara and were even willing to pay a fee of €40million in the summer, reveal Calciomercato. However, Napoli weren’t interested in selling Diawara as manager Carlo Ancelotti had lost key midfielder Jorginho earlier.

Diawara, 21, was nothing more than a back-up player for former Napoli manager Maurizio Sarri but he could find game time under Carlo Ancelotti this season following Jorginho’s departure to Chelsea. Nevertheless, Spurs must reignite their interest in the young Guinean this January and attempt to lure him away to north London.

The central midfield is one area where Tottenham have to improve. Mousa Dembele has rightly been heralded for his performances in the last couple of seasons. He has been a fantastic servant for Tottenham since signing from Fulham back in 2012.

The Belgian possesses the qualities of bulldozing through the opposition midfield and he’s been the engine that has made Spurs run for the better part of three seasons.

However, Dembele has started showing signs of slowing down and at 31, he is finding it difficult to cope with the demands of the Premier League week in and week out.

Mauricio Pochettino has the likes of Victor Wanyama, Eric Dier, Harry Winks and Moussa Sissoko as options in central midfield but none of them possesses the qualities Dembele is renowned for.

As Dembele has entered his 30’s and is out of contract at the end of the campaign, Spurs must sign Amadou Diawara to replace the Belgium international. The latter is one of Europe’s most sought-after youngsters and is pretty similar to Dembele in terms of his style of play.

Having had a very impressive 2015/16 season with Bologna, Diawara was snapped up by Napoli in the summer of 2016 but he hasn’t been able to get consistent game time at Stadio San Paulo.

Diawara is an all-action midfielder and despite his young age, he has an admirable positional sense and a footballing brain. Best suited to the role of a ball-winning midfielder, the Guinean is most effective when he presses the opposition to break down their play and quickly launch a counter-attack.

Mousa Dembele

He is young, energetic and adaptable – the perfect combination of attributes that would certainly entice Pochettino.

Diawara is very much in the mould of a midfield destroyer but he has an impressive passing ability and it stands out when it comes to recycling possession. Also, the 21-year-old can link up with his teammates with quick one-twos.

The Guinea international has seen just a little over three seasons at the top level and is very much a raw talent. But he has all the requisite attributes to flourish as an aggressive box-to-box midfielder. With Dembele’s age and problems a glowing concern for Spurs, Pochettino could get a readymade replacement for his Belgian star in the mould of Diawara.

Read more: Why Tottenham over Arsenal would be a better destination for this £75,000-a-week PL star

Improvements are definitely needed in the midfield for Spurs and Diawara would be a gem of signing in every case.