Tottenham's Failed Attempt Sees Dembélé Join Celtic

Moussa Dembélé, one of Tottenham’s targets at the striker position, is no longer on the market as he has just completed a free transfer to Celtic in the Scottish Premiership.

Days after Schalke announced the signing of Breel Embolo, another one of Tottenham’s targets, Mousa Dembélé, is now the second striker to sign with a different club.

What should have been a done deal last January, with Spurs paying £5 million and loaning the French Under-20 international back to Fulham — after he had already undergone a medical — has now cost Mauricio Pochettino as Dembélé joined Celtic on a free transfer.

At the moment, strikers that would be signed by Tottenham will have the unenviable task of playing second fiddle to Harry Kane.

That is, of course, should Pochettino not consider dropping Kane deeper into a secondary striker role while someone else will take over as the focal point of Tottenham’s attack.

Because Kane is generally involved in link-up play with his teammates and always tracking back to play defense, the 22-year-old has seemed more like a secondary striker to begin with anyways.

And even though his goalscoring exploits suggests he’s more than capable of handling his own as the lone striker in Mauricio Pochettino’s 4-2-3-1 formation, it’s obvious his role will take a drastic turn should Spurs sign another quality center-forward who can get the job done too.

After all, there’s absolutely no way that Tottenham pays Marseille’s asking price for Michy Batshuayi and how much the Belgian international would want for his weekly wages, all the while, keeping him on the bench because Harry Kane is the starting striker.

This is why Moussa Dembélé would have been a good signing nearly six months ago.

LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 20: Moussa Dembele of Fulham FC and Jorge Teixeira of Charlton FC during the Sky Bet Championship match between Fulham and Charlton Athletic at Craven Cottage on February 20, 2016 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images) /

Coming off of a good five month showcase, in which the Frenchman scored 10 goals in 24 appearances in all competitions leading up to the January transfer window, it seemed that a move was inevitable with Dembélé’s contract running out and him looking to move on at the end of the season after rejecting a contract extension.

To score 17 goals in 46 appearances in all competitions, a £5 million bid in January — which fell through because of Tottenham’s desire to keep Dembélé rather than loan him back — should have meant that Spurs rekindle their interest now because he could be signed on a free transfer.

That didn’t happen and it leaves Spurs with no backup striker.

Though, it’s a bit more complicated than just not wanting to loan the French striker back to Fulham, they wouldn’t have been able to offer the things that Dembélé wanted had he joined.

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Speaking to the media following his move to Celtic, Mousa Dembélé explained his decision.

"“When you have a manager like Brendan [Rodgers] who talks to you about the club and who convinces you to come, it’s a massive thing,” Dembélé said (via Daily Express).“He told me about the club, about what he wanted to do with me in the future, and I was happy with that. Brendan is a very big manager and I can’t wait to work with him.”"

The main thing for the Frenchman was getting first team football under his belt. Something that he had with Fulham but wasn’t guaranteed with Tottenham or other clubs who were interested.

"“I had a few offers but I didn’t have the same one I had with Celtic in terms of football,” Mousa Dembélé added. “I think it’s the best place for me to be.”“I signed for Celtic because it’s a massive club in Europe. I want to play in the Champions League and I think I can do this here. It would be special.”“As a young boy you always dream of playing in the Champions League. We have a chance to do that this season. It’s up to us, we have to win the qualifiers.”"

Winning trophies is also important to him too. And he could get that quite easily with one of the biggest clubs in Scotland.

"“I want to score goals, I’m a striker. I want to score goals and win trophies because Celtic is a club that wins trophies.”“I came to Celtic to improve. I was in the Championship and I’ve come to the Scottish Premiership. I see my future here and hopefully I can score a lot of goals for the club and win many trophies.”“Last season I watched a lot of Scottish football. I know the club well, and the unbelievable fans. It’s one of the biggest clubs in Europe and I can’t wait to start.”"

Although Tottenham has Champions League to offer as well, the fact that they couldn’t offer Mousa Dembélé playing time because Harry Kane is going to remain as the starter — and not being guaranteed to win trophies — hurt Spurs’ chances of landing the striker on a free transfer.

Spurs will be title contenders, there’s no denying that but they haven’t won a trophy since 2008 after missing out on one back in March 2015 during the League Cup final.

Next: Tottenham After Sigurdsson (Not That One Though)

Basically, the only way to describe this situation is a missed opportunity.

Tottenham have lost out on a player they could have had last January if they agreed to a move in sending the Frenchman back on loan to the Cottagers just like they did with Dele Alli and MK Dons, after already agreeing to terms on a £5 million deal and Dembélé taking his medical.

For now, the search for a striker continues while Tottenham have missed out on two.

Tottenham’s Failed Attempt Sees Dembélé Join Celtic

By Alexander Balano | Jun 29, 2016

Moussa Dembélé, one of Tottenham’s targets at the striker position, is no longer on the market as he has just completed a free transfer to Celtic in the Scottish Premiership.

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