Could this impressive Belgian be Spurs’ stand-out player this season?

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It would be fairly easy this season to ignore the contributions of Mousa Dembélé for Spurs. Most opposition fans do, actually. However, his partnership in the holding midfield role alongside Eric Dier has given Spurs the foundations to implement Pochettino’s system effectively, and the Belgian is having his most impressive season of recent times – possibly even his best ever. Most TV pundits; especially at this time of the season, talk about teams being brave, risking one point to take all three, throwing players forwards to try and get important goals and significant points. Dembélé personifies this within the individual – his ability to take the ball facing his own goal, under pressure from attacking players, and either win fouls or force his way out of the situation before finding a team-mate in space, is second to none.

Spurs teams in the past have given away cheap goals through conceding the ball in midfield, and leaving the defence essentially unprotected against the opposition’s attacking forces. The goal that especially sticks out is Loic Remy’s goal for Newcastle at White Hart Lane in 2013, where Paulinho; a forlorn figure for the North London club, lost the ball, and Remy scoring from there became a fairly simple task.

Now, at risk of cursing it, when was the last time we conceded a goal like that? The simple answer is, a long time ago. Dembélé and Dier’s ball retention is immaculate and without fault. Dembélé is a vast improvement on last season; he dominates the midfield and gives Spurs a real backbone. His passes were mostly just shorter ones to Danny Rose, as Eric Dier is the one who plays the more adventurous passes out of the pair, but his braveness in possession is of great benefit to his teammates. He never loses the ball in the centre of the park, and everybody clearly trusts him with the ball. He’s formed a magnificent central midfield pairing with Dier, and the two of them have been fantastic all year.

There has been some degree of analysis over the way that the full-backs attack in the current system, and it has been highlighted that this only happens because of Dier’s ability to drop in as the covering defender. This is irrefutable; nobody is denying Dier’s importance. But, would this be the case if Dier left the central midfield to a more lightweight midfield? I for one doubt it, as a player like Ryan Mason simply doesn’t have the stature or technical ability to play the “Dembélé role”.

Moussa is one of a kind – how many other holding midfielders possess his technical ability? He breaks the mould in this regard – the view that Premier League holding midfielders have to be essentially a third centre-back acting as a midfield sweeper, as shown by Chelsea’s Nemanja Matic and, at times last year, Kurt Zouma, as well as Manchester City’s Fernando, has been erased. The players listed are all fine footballers but arguably limited in that they can only perform one role at a time. The likes of Fernando and Matic for example, don’t offer technical ability going forwards, but instead act as a destroyer, breaking up play for the back four. Dembélé does both roles impressively. Even in the most similar recent side – Brendan Rodgers’ Liverpool team that should have won the title using Jordan Henderson and Steven Gerrard as the two midfielders – neither central midfield player offered his brute force combined with his technical excellence on the ball. There simply hasn’t been anyone similar to the Belgian in recent times.

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There is, therefore, no doubting his value to the current side. Even the most pessimistic of fans would realise that this season has seen Dembélé finally live up to the potential that has surrounded him ever since his move from Fulham. There isn’t a player like him in the Premier League, and one can only wonder at what his market value would be to a side like Barcelona or Real Madrid were he four or five years longer. Not that we should cash in on his talent, of course – he is a vital cog in this brand new Tottenham Hotspur machine.

Featured Image: All rights reserved by Kevin Airs.