Tottenham Player Review: Mousa Dembélé

Some of the sparkle began to fade from Mousa Dembélé this season at Tottenham, but he was just as vital to the team’s fortunes as he was last season.

His efforts in 2015/16 were immense, and to many nothing short of revelatory. Mauricio Pochettino’s idea of Tottenham would not work without Dembélé tying it all together in the center of the park.

Prior to last season though, it wasn’t at all clear where Dembélé fit in at Spurs. He’d survived the departure of Andre Villas-Boas and Tim Sherwood only to be deemed just good enough for Pochettino to keep — but only rarely start.

The problem — if you could call it that — is that Dembélé’s value doesn’t show up in the more easily accessible numbers the game produces. He doesn’t score, nor does he set up many assists. Prior managers, and Pochettio himself at first, thought they could squeeze that quality out of him by playing him high up the pitch, in the middle of the attack.

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Playmaker Dembélé is not however, and these efforts bore no fruit. What they did reveal, at least to Pochettino’s eye, was a player who hustled regardless of where he was on the pitch, tracking down loose balls or cutting off routes for the opposition to play out of the back.

It made Dembélé something of a defensive number 10, and by the start of last season Pochettino recognized that this skillset it better utilized deeper into midfield. That way another attacker could be fielded in Dembélé’s stead, while also still assuring that Spurs’ pressing engine was still in the heart of the action.

The 2015/16 season proved to be Dembélé’s breakout season at Tottenham as his efforts defined the club’s playing style from the inside out. He was rightly regarded as one of the key men in this side, perhaps just as important as Harry Kane or resident wunderkind Dele Alli.

Dembélé’s importance was made bitterly clear when, following his suspension for the eye-gouge against Diego Costa, Spurs lost their last two matches of the season. They simply weren’t the same side without the Belgian in it.

Pochettino successfully mitigated that risk this season by acquiring Victor Wanyama. The Kenyan is more rangey than Dier, and thus could make up for some of what was lacking as Dembélé served out his suspension.

Christian Eriksen’s willingness and ability to drop into central midfield on occasion also helped when Dembélé needed a rest or, late in the season, he picked up an injury. In contrast to last season, Spurs were much better equipped to deal with his absence.

Next: Tottenham Player Review: Victor Wanyama

With Dembélé turning 30 in July, Spurs need to start considering longer term solutions. Neither Wanyama nor Eriksen are better in Dembélé’s role than they are in their own, so ideally the club would find a younger player to begin slowly working into the Belgian’s role next season and beyond.

That man at the moment appears to be Harry Winks. The Academy graduate only played a handful of matches this season, but it’s clear that he is being groomed for something big. We’ll explore his season in more depth in our next player review.