Tottenham Hotspur have confirmed the capture of Fulham midfielder Mousa Dembele for a fee of £15m.

Spurs have moved quickly to replace the recently departed Luka Modric, who joined Real Madrid in a deal worth well over £30m, by activating Dembele’s Craven Cottage release clause. The Belgian international has reportedly signed a three-year contract at White Hart Lane.

Dembele, who has 40 caps and 5 goals for his country, always demonstrated prodigious talent but it was never fully optimised until Fulham manager Martin Jol moved him further back from his advanced attacking position into central midfield, where his strength, mobility, ball control, ability with the ball at pace and work rate all came to the fore, finishing the season in stunning form.

Throughout the course of summer Dembele had been linked with a move away from SW6 and Spurs are believed to have acted swiftly to beat Manchester United to his signature. Dembele’s outstanding display at Old Trafford on Saturday ended up being his last in a Fulham shirt as he missed last night’s disappointing League Cup defeat at Sheffield Wednesday after Spurs’ bid was accepted by the Fulham board.

We all wish the magnificently talented Mousa Dembele all the best at his new club.

~lork