Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly keen on Inter Milan’s Geoffrey Kondogbia.
Celtic’s Liam Henderson in action with Inter Milan’s Geoffrey Kondogbia
According to Tutto Mercato Web, Tottenham Hotspur have taken an interest in signing Inter Milan midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia, having scouted him against Sampdoria earlier this week.
Kondogbia played just 45 minutes of Inter’s 2-1 defeat to Sampdoria, coming on as a half-time substitute as he struggles to nail down a regular spot in Stefano Pioli’s side.
The Frenchman was one of Europe’s hottest properties during his time with Monaco, and Inter splashed the cash to sign him in the summer of 2015, spending almost £30million (Sky Sports) on the former Lens and Sevilla star.
Now 24, Kondogbia is becoming a case of a player with unfulfilled potential, as he has just five France caps to his name, and he has started only 15 of Inter’s 30 Serie A games this season.
With such limited success at the San Siro, Tottenham’s alleged interest seems strange – but if Spurs are viewing him as a possible alternative and eventual successor to Mousa Dembele, then it’s a move that makes some sense.
Dembele is Tottenham’s midfield powerhouse, with the Belgian becoming known for the way he can pick the ball up and drive from midfield, shrugging off defenders who can’t cope with his combination of strength and dribbling ability.
When Dembele isn’t available, they don’t have the same qualities in midfield; Victor Wanyama provides power, but he isn’t nearly as effective going forward, and with Dembele now approaching his 30’s, Mauricio Pochettino may want an alternative to Dembele in midfield.
Tottenham’s Mousa Dembele in action with Southampton’s Steven Davis
Kondogbia fits the bill; he’s big at 6ft 2in tall, he has great power, and he possesses untapped potential for Pochettino to work with – just as Dembele did upon Pochettino’s appointment in 2014.
Crucially though, Kondogbia – who also packs a punch with his long-range shooting – has superb dribbling ability, with WhoScored noting earlier this week that, of players in Serie A to have attempted more than 50 dribbles, Kondogbia has the greatest success rate at a whopping 88%.
That is a key stat if Tottenham are viewing Kondogbia as a possible heir to Dembele, and it makes the links to the French midfielder seem much more understandable.
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