/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/49293147/488685109.0.jpg)
There's something about the name. Tottenham Hotspur are still looking for a striker to back up and push Harry Kane for next season, and now there's a new, but still familiar, name to add to the rumor mill. France Football is reporting that Spurs officials have held negotiations with the agent of teenage French striker Ousmane Dembele ahead of a possible transfer this summer.
I don't watch a whole lot of Ligue 1 football, but Ousmane Dembele's statistics are incredible. He's scored 12 goals and tallied 5 assists in 1500 minutes for Stade Rennais... as an 18-year old. To have that sort of production in a top tier football league is insane. He's comfortable at the tip of the spear, but can also play centrally as a #9 or wide right. And based on his YouTube videos, the kid's got some mad skills.
Which is exactly why there are some SUPER big clubs sniffing around him, including Barcelona and Bayern Munich. It's looking like Dembele could be a major prize this summer, enough that Goal is suggesting that he might cost as much as £30m, even though Stade Rennais is willing to sell him.
If the likes of Bayern and Barca truly are interested in him, then Tottenham doesn't have much of a shot of landing him. However, Spurs do have a puncher's chance, especially with Mauricio Pochettino's reputation as a manager able to develop young talent, and with Spurs (almost) certainly in the Champions League next season. Ousmane's decision could come down to whether he'd like to make bank but sit the bench for a few seasons, or come in and quite possibly get significant minutes on a nascent Champions League club.
Spurs already have one Dembele on the roster – midfielder Mousa – and were heavily linked to Fulham striker Moussa Dembele in January before a deadline day transfer fell through. It's almost like Spurs are trying to collect the full set! Are there any other Dembeles we can buy?