Mousa Dembele, right, pictured with new manager Andre Villas Boas

Tottenham Hotspur Football Club have moved quickly to replace the recently departed Modric, who left for Real Madrid in a figure well over £30m, by signing midfielder Mousa Dembele from Fulham in a deal worth a reported £15m. The Belgian international, 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 summer Dembele had been linked with clubs, Manchester United and Real Madrid amongst them, but no serious bid ever formalised until a combination of the loss of Modric at Tottenham and his stunning midfield performance at Old Trafford on Saturday forced Spurs’ hand into purchasing him as a replacement.

I wish Mousa Dembele all the best at  his new club.

~lork