Scouts sent: Spurs target £15kp/w "engine" who has shades of Mousa Dembele

Submitted by daniel on
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Out of the traditional 'big six' Premier League sides, only Chelsea and perhaps Manchester United have been busier than Tottenham Hotspur this summer.

The North Londoners have signed several exciting young talents like Archie Gray, Wilson Odobert and Yang Min-Hyeok, extended Timor Werner's loan for another season, and, most importantly, spent £65m on bringing in Dominic Solanke.

However, the window is still open for another week, and based on recent reports, Daniel Levy and Co could bring in even more promising youngsters.

In fact, the latest star touted for a move to N17 enjoyed a brilliant season last year and has shades of former Spurs great Mousa Dembélé about him.

Tottenham Hotspur transfer news

According to a recent report from journalist Graeme Bailey, Tottenham are one of several Premier League clubs interested in RC Lens prospect Andy Diouf.

Alongside the Lilywhites, the report has claimed that Manchester City, Aston Villa, Newcastle United and Brighton & Hove Albion all sent scouts to watch the 21-year-old in the club's 2-1 Conference League qualifier victory over Panathinaikos on Thursday night.

The story does not mention a potential price, but considering the £15k-per-week star only joined the Ligue 1 side last summer, he'd presumably cost a pretty penny.

However, given his potential and form last season, Diouf is a player Levy and Co should seriously consider signing, especially as there are shades of Dembélé to him.

How Diouf resembles Dembélé

Okay, so let's examine the ways in which the youngster has shades of former Spurs star Dembélé about him.

The first is that, like the Belgian during his pomp, the Neuilly-sur-Seine-born midfielder is already a great ball carrier, as evidenced by FBref placing him in the top 1% of all midfielders in Europe's top five leagues, the Champions League and Europa League for progressive carries per 90.

A carry is considered progressive if the ball is moved towards the opponent's goal at least 10 yards from its starting point or is carried into the penalty area.

He also sits in the top 2% for successful take-ons, 14% for total shots and shot-creating actions, and 20% for progressive passes received.

Not only is this an incredible statistic in its own right, but it's made all the more outrageous by the fact that the Frenchman is still just 21, suggesting that, in time, he could pull even further away from the pack and become a ball-carrying machine, much like the former Lilywhites star was.

The second similarity is two-fold and comes from the fact that the "progressive" youngster, as dubbed by data analyst Ben Mattinson, plays in the same areas of the pitch and shares the physical characteristics of the 82-capped Belgian, also coming in at over 6 foot - 6 foot 2 in his case.

This towering presence in the middle of the park, combined with his "great engine", per Mattinson, and incredible ball-carrying, could see him develop into an all-action midfielder able to take control and dictate games on his own.

Lastly, like the Antwerp-born icon, the Lens gem is left-footed, which, considering James Maddison, Rodrigo Bentancur, Pape Matar Sarr and Yves Bissouma are all right-footed, would give Postecoglou another option to choose from.

Ultimately, Diouf may not be a name familiar to many outside of France, and while he might not quite reach the level Dembélé did, there is undoubtedly a lot of talent there. Therefore, Spurs should do what they can to pick him up before someone like City does.