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Mousa Dembele’s reported China move would be a disappointing waste of the Tottenham midfielder’s talent

Max Cohen

Sat 5 January 2019 7:15, UK

Reports on Friday from the claimed that Chinese club Beijing Guoan are moving to sign Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Mousa Dembele in January.

The mooted transfer would represent a disappointing waste of Dembele’s considerable talent, as the Tottenham midfielder still has much to offer in Europe despite his age and injury concerns.

The 31-year-old has recently returned to training after undergoing ankle surgery, but Spurs are looking to offload Dembele in an attempt to streamline their squad.

Considered one of the best midfielders in all of England when fully fit, Dembele possesses an uncanny ability to shrug any player off the ball at will. His surging runs forward are close to impossible to stop, with Dembele’s remarkable strides and sizable frame posing as a deterrent for any would-be defender.

Although injuries have hampered his progress in recent seasons, the Belgian international still has the quality to consistently play at the top level of the European game for a number of seasons.

Numerous Premier League clubs, including his former team Fulham, must be desperate to add the authoritative deep-lying midfielder to their ranks, in addition to Serie A outfits who could use Dembele’s presence.

But for Mousa Dembele to swap north London for China would be a true shame, marking a drastic step down in quality for a remarkable player who still has much to offer the European game.