Why Tottenham must sign Amadou Diawara to replace Mousa Dembele
Ever since Mauricio Pochettino has taken charge at Tottenham Hotspur, the club have improved considerably. In fact, Spurs have consistently finished in the top four in the past three seasons. While the likes of Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen receive all the limelight, Mousa Dembele has been their unsung hero. He is the muscle in Tottenham’s midfield and controls the pace of the game with his ball-winning and passing abilities.
But Dembele is 31 now and has entered the final year of his contract. Hence, it’s time for Pochettino to look for a replacement. A report by Italian outlet Corriere Dello Sport had linked Amadou Diawara with a move to join the Londoners in the summer but the move didn’t materialize before deadline day.
Diawara is a 21-year-old defensive midfielder who plays for Napoli and has caught the eye of a lot of top clubs in Europe.
Born in Guinea, he started out his career with San Marino in Italy’s lower leagues, before being snapped up by Bologna in 2015. But even at the age of 18, he made 34 appearances in the Serie A, thus earning a move to Napoli ahead of the 2016/17 season.
Whilst he boasts of ample potential, Diawara failed to nail down a regular starting spot under Maurizio Sarri. The youngster had the likes of Allan, Jorginho and Marek Hamsik ahead of him in the pecking order at Naples. Thus, he could only play 36 games in the past two seasons, with only 15 of them coming as starts.
Despite the limited minutes, he has been rather impressive. In these 36 games, he has contributed over 1400 passes with a passing accuracy of 90%. Also, he managed to make 27 successful tackles, 36 interceptions and rack up 18 clearances. He’s a solid midfield destroyer but at the same time, his passing ability and ball retention skills are top-notch.
If Spurs manage to get this deal done in January, it should be a huge boost to the whole squad. But Spurs must remain patient with him. The Premier League is the toughest league in the world and Diawara will require time to settle in a new country and a new culture altogether.
