Tottenham have done absolutely nothing in the January transfer window thus far, despite a plethora of rumours emerging about them this month.
There have been plenty of fleeting links to the likes of Eder Militao, Nicolas Gonzalez and Angel Di Maria, but one thing that just won’t disappear is rumours of Dele Alli’s impending departure.
Indeed, we’ve heard all month that Alli wants to leave the club, and now it seems as though he will be free to go, but on one condition, as long as Tottenham get a replacement through the door.
Luckily, Spurs have someone in mind, with the Mirror reporting that the London outfit are eyeing up German midfielder Florian Neuhaus as Alli’s replacement.
It is unknown whether or not Spurs will be looking for a permanent deal or a loan for Neuhaus, but the report states that Alli will be going on a simple loan with no option to buy, and that’s what makes this so interesting.
Neuhaus and Alli’s statistical makeup is rather similar. Their shots per game tally was within 0.2 of one another last season, their dribbles per game statistic was only 0.4 apart last season, while their key pass numbers were also strikingly similar.
By all accounts, Neuhaus and Alli play in a similar way, they have both been described as playing the raumdeuter role and compared to Germany star Thomas Muller, and that’s why this will be an interesting experiment.
Swapping Neuhaus for Alli will be something of a like for like swap, and it will be a test of if a player like that can perform well in Mourinho’s system, or if Alli’s problems this season are personal to him.
If Neuhaus comes in and lights up the Premier League, we’ll begin to understand that the issue may not be with Mourinho’s system, whereas if the inverse happens, then blame can begin to be shifted away from Alli.
If these two deals come off, it will certainly be interesting to watch how Neuhaus gets on under Jose Mourinho.
Daniel Levy may very well be about to trial an interesting experiment at Tottenham if Neuhaus takes Alli’s place.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
