Transfer News: Tottenham Hotspur rival Arsenal for Olympic Lyon striker Moussa Dembele
According to the French news outlet Foot Mercato (h/t Daily Record), Tottenham Hotspur are competing against Arsenal for the services of Olympic Lyon striker Moussa Dembele for a summer transfer. He could leave his current club at the end of this season and could be in line to move to one of the North London clubs.
Dembele will see his current contract with Olympique Lyonnais expire in 2023. Despite a year being left in his deal, they are ready to sell him this summer following their failure to qualify for the next term’s Champions League, Europa League and even the Conference League. Their decision could be down to the financial blow dealt by an unsuccessful campaign.
Tottenham and the Gunners have been made aware of this situation as they are keeping tabs on the Frenchman right now. Lyon are willing to part ways with the centre-forward and have even slapped a price tag of £25million for his signature.
Dembele, a perfect backup?
The 25-year-old has enjoyed a solid term at a personal level despite the Ligue 1 giants enduring a difficult campaign as a whole. He has a tally of 22 goals and five assists this season from 36 appearances across all competitions. That is quite a solid return, and signing him would greatly boost our attacking department.
We have often struggled to find a reliable backup option for Harry Kane as the targets we signed in the past have failed to reach the needed heights. We did not have someone to support Kane this season which did hamper us on several occasions when he was not in action on the pitch.
Hence, Spurs must solve this issue as soon as possible, and Dembele could very well be the best solution right now. He could be a solid option to backup Kane moving forward, considering how he can lead the frontline to an extent judging from his performances for the struggling French side.
Mikel Arteta’s side would probably pose stern competition as they are desperate for some centre-forward additions following Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s January exit and Alexandre Lacazette’s fast-expiring contract.
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Then again, we could perhaps use the prospect of playing in the CL to gain an edge over our bitter rivals in this pursuit. The club must do their best to finalise a move as we may not get another opportunity to get a top player like Dembele on a cut-price deal.
Now, it is up to Antonio Conte and Fabio Paratici to discuss this matter among themselves and reach a conclusion on whether Dembele would suit their needs or not moving forward. A quick decision must be taken as we cannot allow Arsenal to get ahead of ourselves in this transfer race.
