Tottenham fans surprisingly pick Belgian as man to be sold

A fans poll has shown that Tottenham fans would prefer Mousa Dembele to be sold over any of their other key players.

There’s no doubting Tottenham are on the up.

While no silverware has arrived in north London yet, Mauricio Pochettino has turned Spurs’ fortunes around since his arrival in 2014 and the Lilywhites are now one of the top teams in the Premier League after finishes of third and second in the last two seasons.

One of the key issues facing Pochettino over the next year or so will be keeping the team together, given that there has been so much press speculation regarding the likes of Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Kyle Walker recently, but if one player had to leave Spurs, who would the fans choose?

In a rather surprising landslide, Mousa Dembele is the player who Tottenham supporters would have to give the boot to, with the former Fulham man receiving 45% of the vote in a 90min poll.

The influential midfielder gives Spurs a different gear when fit, effortlessly gliding past opposition players and dictating the tempo of matches with his accurate passing, but Spurs fans would rather see the back of the Belgium international as opposed to a selection of other first-team stars.

Next up is centre-back Toby Alderweireld, picking up 16%. It’s a little bit of a shock, in that Alderweireld was essentially that last piece of the jigsaw that helped Spurs transform from top four hopefuls to Premier League contenders but, in comparison to the other players included in the poll, it does make sense.

Goalkeeper and captain Hugo Lloris is the third-most selected player with 14%, and in fairness that figure sounds about right. While by no means is the Frenchman easily replaceable he can be prone to the odd calamitous mistake here and there, perhaps leading Tottenham fans to think another shot-stopper could do a similar or better job should he ever leave.

Christian Eriksen is an attacking midfielder like few others in the Premier League, in that he often has a direct influence on every single Tottenham game. With eight goals and 15 assists in the league during the 2016-17 season, it’s no surprise that few Spurs fans voted for the Dane as he picked up just 10%.

The final two players are forwards who Pochettino needs to keep at the club so Tottenham can compete for trophies. Harry Kane and Dele Alli, who picked 7% and 8% respectively, have formed one of the most deadly attacking partnerships in the Premier League and there is no way the club can consider letting them leave any time soon, regardless of how monstrously big a potential bid could be.

With a combined 47 league goals, the England pair are definitely capable of leading Tottenham to silverware in the near future and fans hope they will remain at the heartbeat of the side for years to come, hence the low amount of votes for the duo.

By Jude Summerfield