Tottenham are reportedly looking to replace Mousa Dembele.
Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly scouting the globe for a successor to midfielder Mousa Dembele as the Belgian’s contract looks set to enter its final 18 months, expiring in June 2019.
Sky Sports claim they have scouted Valencia midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia, who is on loan in Spain from Inter Milan, as well as youngsters Matteo Guendouzi and Yves Bissouma from France.
However, the latter two are hardly of the required calibre to replace a player as good as 30-year-old Dembele, while Kondogbia is yet to show the kind of potential that he was expected to produce when breaking into the Monaco side.
Now, one of Kondogbia’s old Monaco teammates, Fabinho, has been quoted by the Daily Mirror Transfer Centre (Thursday) that he wants to leave the French champions at the end of the 2017-18 season.
“It should be my last season at Monaco,” Fabinho said. “Atletico or PSG? I’m a Monaco player. I need to prove I can play on teams like that. We’ll see in May. I used to read the papers. I don’t anymore. I’m OK with that.”
Spurs are yet to be credited with an interest in the 24-year-old Brazilian, with Manchester United said to be long-term admirers of the former Rio Ave ace who has spent time on loan with Real Madrid.
However, Fabinho has become one of Monaco’s most-established players, with his intricate array of passing and tough-tackling style of player endearing himself to fans and manager Leonardo Jardim.
He has already clocked up 210 appearances for Monaco, of which 33 have come in the Champions League and he would prove to be a key asset in the Spurs’ side both domestically and on the continental stage.
His lung-busting stamina and aerial prowess seems him cover plenty of the pitch during 90 minutes, boasting many similar qualities to former Fulham ace Dembele.
Replacing the powerhouse midfielder with Fabinho would be a major coup for the north Londoners, with interest likely to be rife in Fabinho who has a contract at Monaco until 2021. But with his desire to leave, Spurs must make a move.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
