Nicolo Barella has been linked with a big money move to Tottenham.
According to The Sun, Tottenham Hotspur are set to bid £35 million for Cagliari midfielder Nicolo Barella in January, after a flying start to the season for club and country.
It has led to growing rumours that Mauricio Pochettino sees the Italian international as the player to replace Mousa Dembele.
The Belgian’s contract with the North London outfit runs out in the summer, with the 31-year-old currently injured and physically on the decline.
It is imperative that Spurs boost their midfield ranks if they are to mount any serious title challenge.
However, despite his impressive start to the season, Spurs should not be looking at Barella as a viable option.
Since Pochettino became manager of Tottenham in 2014, Dembele has been one of his standout performers due to his ability and control on the ball as well as his physical dominance over most other players.
Dembele is an outstanding dribbler, using his technique and physicality to weave and bulldoze past opponents, helping his side get up the pitch.
However, Barella is a far more slight and diminutive player, weighing only 68kg, which is 19kg lighter than Dembele.
Barella also loses the ball a third of his 1.6 dribbles per game.
Of course, the eye test shows that Barella is a very talented player, and you only have to look at Pochettino’s admiration for Harry Winks to see the Argentine is willing to incorporate different styles and attributes into his side.
However, Winks is a very tenacious and technical player, and surely the signing of Barella would only result in less game time for the English international, even though he has become a key figure for a Spurs side who has had their best ever Premier League start.
Perhaps then, Pochettino should look to replace the outgoing Dembele with someone whose attributes and style is more similar to the Belgian international.
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