At just £20 million, Celtic’s Moussa Dembele could yet appeal to Tottenham.
Tottenham’s decision not to sign Moussa Dembele in January 2016 appears by now to be a clear error of judgement.
Dembele was on the verge of a move from Fulham before talks broke down, and Dembele signed for Celtic instead months later.
After scoring 32 goals in his debut season, the France under-21 star is attracting interest, with SkySports reporting Celtic are seeking a fee of £20 million, only after their Champions League qualifiers have been played.
Celtic’s Moussa Dembele celebrates
Having spurned the chance to sign Dembele for just £5 million, paying a big fee to sign Dembele was unlikely to appeal to chairman Daniel Levy.
Back in January Dembele was touted at a staggering £40 million, The Telegraph reported, amid interest from Chelsea.
Celtic’s Moussa Dembele in action with Lincoln’s Bernardo Lopes
Levy is often shrewd in the transfer market – despite the Sissoko deal – and the chances of Spurs paying a club record £40 million for a player they could have signed at a fraction of the price would be zero.
Celtic’s reported £20 million demands are a lot more reasonable, and should not put Tottenham off.
Yes, they would be acknowledging an error in not buying him 18 months ago, but £20 million is a fair price in this market for a player with his outstanding potential.
If the price creeps up then Spurs might want to reconsider, but at £20 million the fee is a small price to pay to sign a player who could really improve their forward options.
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