Tottenham Hotspur have been linked with a £25m move for Watford’s Abdoulaye Doucoure – but he has been overshadowed by ex-Spurs man Capoue of late.
Abdoulaye Doucoure had an opportunity to stake his claim for a big money move to Tottenham Hotspur when Watford travelled to Wembley Stadium on Monday night.
It is well documented that Spurs are looking for a long-term successor for Mousa Dembele and Doucoure, who The Sunday People (11th February, page 51) say is valued at £25 million, is understood to be one of the names on Mauricio Pochettino’s radar.
But his performance in Watford’s 2-0 defeat will not do his hopes of a move to North London any good.
The powerful, omnipresent midfielder who shone in that 4-1 thrashing of Chelsea three months ago was replaced by a clumsy, lumbering presence in the centre of the park. He used his strength and natural attributes well but, up against the razor-sharp precision of Spurs’ midfield, Doucoure looked a little out of his depth at times.
In fact, you could even argue that he was outshone by his Watford team-mate Etienne Capoue, a man who was deemed not good enough by Tottenham.
The Hornets paid a club-record £6.3 million for Capoue back in 2015 after he managed just 19 Premier League starts in two seasons as a Tottenham player. But the former Toulouse prospect arguably looked a little more at home on the Wembley turf and, in truth, he has been the pick of Watford’s midfielders over the lasts few month rather than Doucoure.
A warning, then, for Spurs.
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