For years, Tottenham Hotspur have tried and failed to replicate those amazing days of Mauricio Pochettino.
Of course, the lilies did not win the cup under the leadership of the Argentine, but they reached the final of the Champions League.
Some of the best players of the modern era have also become icons of the Premier League under Pochettino. Harry Kane is the club’s record goalscorer, while Dele Alli is one of the best young players to emerge from Tottenham in two decades.
Christian Eriksen and Moussa Dembele weren’t bad either. In fact, Dembele has to be regarded as one of the best midfielders we have seen in the top flight.
What made Dembele so special?
The talent at Dembele’s disposal was extraordinary. The midfielder was a player who could slide across the pitch. He looked like Eden Hazard was a midfielder.
He was impressive with the ball at his feet, so impressive in fact that Kyle Walker once said the Belgian was “probably the best dribbler I’ve ever seen”.
Those away from Spurs must have forgotten about Dembele. After all, he’s not Kevin De Bruyne; he is not David Silva. As a result, it is highly underrated.
He is not in “Tottenham”. Eric Dier once correctly said that the former midfielder “is a monster and also has the legs of a ballerina”.
At his peak in 2016/17, Dembele made 3.4 dribbles per game. Only six players in the entire division finished more that season. No central midfielder has done more.
Moreover, only 14 midfielders scored more than his 2.8 goals per match that season.
Based on these stats, it’s no wonder they struggled so much to replace Dembele after his departure in 2019.
Why are Spurs struggling to replace Dembele?
It is a regular occurrence that Tottenham struggle to replace their best players. Harry Kane and Heung-min Son are irreplaceable, but no one has come close to replicating their level at Spurs.
The same can be said about the midfielder and Mr. Dembele in particular.
Spurs first tried to replace him with Tanguy Ndombele and we all know how that turned out. Since then, the Spurs midfielder has lacked bite; There was a certain fluidity that Dembele brings in abundance.
The less said about the days of Harry Winks, Oliver Skipp and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, the better. The less said about Moussa Sissoko’s time in north London, the better.
Midfield was also one of the biggest problems for Spurs in the 2025/26 season. That’s why they signed Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes. They needed more line-breaking passers and more progressive players like Dembele.
Well, it’s safe to say that it hasn’t gone well yet either. For a £100m player, we are yet to see the best of Tonali. As for Fernandes, he is used as a number 10 by Roberto De Zerbi.
So where will the next Dembele come from?
A new Dembele appears in Spurs
Tottenham have a few problems at the moment, not the least of which is that De Zerbi’s side needed five games to finally find points in the Premier League.
However, despite investing £185m in the midfield, those central areas are still a problem.
Rodrigo Bentancur was huge and ahead of both of these players. That said, it’s not uncomfortable? Maybe. The Uruguayan looks more like a £100m midfielder in all of this.
Speaking of such a price tag, there’s a belief that one day a certain teenager named Luca Williams-Barnett could be worth a pretty penny too.
Tottenham’s answer to Max Dowman is yet to earn regular first-team minutes like his fellow 17-year-old teenager, but De Zerbi should be free before too long.
After all, Williams-Barnett proved in the preseason that he has what it takes to mix it with the bigs.
Young has been making waves at the youth level for a while now. He scored 16 goals in 19 youth games during the last period. He also assisted eight goals in various competitions.
Despite this, he only made two first-team appearances in the competition. It’s a surprise given how he’s been in preseason play, tearing down his teammates.
After his dazzling performance against Auckland, another academy graduate in the form of Mikey Moore described him as an “incredible footballer”, while Ben Davies said he was “really the best player” and had a “bright future ahead of him”.
Against the New Zealand side, the teenager played as an attacking midfielder and kicked five times in 63 minutes on the field. On another day, Williams-Barnett would score. Well, he finally found the pre-season points, but not until his last game against Hoffenheim.
It’s been a very impressive pre-season for the youngster, but his best performance arguably came against MK Dons.
Williams-Barnett vs MK Dons | |
|---|---|
Minutes played | 45 |
It touches | 33 |
Accurate transmissions | 20/22 (91%) |
Key links | 3 |
Shots | 1 |
Successful dribbles | 2/6 |
takes | 14 |
Duels won | 3/8 |
He was used as a second-half sub and actually played in a deeper midfield role where, to be completely honest, he looked like the aforementioned Dembele.
During that showing, he completed 91% of his passes, created three chances and attempted six dribbles. It was like Dembele at his best, leaping beyond the opposition and charging forward.
Williams-Barnett’s specialty is its ability to evade opponents. We have seen this countless times at the youth level. It is almost impossible for him to pick up the ball.
While his future may lie in a more advanced role, playing a bit further back could give Dembele some shine in the process.