Tottenham Hotspur could finally be set to secure an heir to an old favourite of theirs, perfecting Ange Postecoglou's new-look midfield in the process.
Who are Tottenham Hotspur signing this summer?
With James Maddison the star new addition thus far, supplemented by the signings of Manor Solomon and Guglielmo Vicario, it seems that the Lilywhites are heading in the right direction towards building a brighter future.
However, it could certainly still be worth borrowing some ideals from the sole successful regime in recent memory though, taking a leaf out of Mauricio Pochettino's book by emulating his main men to prop up the new regime.
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Of those stars of the past, few compare to Mousa Dembele, who held down the engine room with relentless power and endless grace for seven fine years. However, there is one star on the market who does boast frightening similarities both in physical profile and play style.
Sofyan Amrabat has been touted with an exit from Fiorentina ever since his exceptional World Cup, and it is Spurs who too are reportedly interested in making the Moroccan general the heir to their Belgian maestro.
He is expected to cost around €40m (£34m), per transfer guru Fabrizio Romano.
How good is Sofyan Amrabat?
Whilst those performances on the world stage still stand as the apex of his career thus far, he has impressed for his club too across four years in Italy.
The 26-year-old managed a 6.86 average rating in Serie A last season, buoyed by his 90% pass accuracy, 75% dribble success and 1.3 tackles per game, via Sofascore.
When comparing that to Dembele's best year in north London, arguably throughout the 2015/16 campaign, it is clear that the similarities begin to shine through.
After all, they are both a couple of tough-tackling 6 foot 1 midfield stars, with the class to retain possession but also turn defence into attack in an instant.
During that Premier League term, the 36-year-old ace recorded a 7.41 average rating, with just four goal contributions, a 90% pass accuracy, a 92% dribble success rate, one key pass and 3.6 tackles per game, via Sofascore.
It was such form that led Pochettino to compare his key man to some of the greats he had met, claiming:
"I always say to him, ‘Mousa, when I write my book, you will be one of my genius players that I have been lucky enough to meet.
"One was Maradona; also Ronaldinho, Okocha and Iván de la Peña – he was a genius, too – and then Mousa. We always tell Mousa that if we had taken him at 18 or 19, he would have become one of the best players in the world."
Perhaps Postecoglou could now be credited with engineering that rise to the apex of world football with Amrabat, especially given that he has already received widespread praise of his own for that recent World Cup run. Journalist Carlo Garganese even noted:
"Amrabat the best centre midfielder in the tournament. MONSTER."
He too has that genius within him which is just waiting to be unleashed, with only flashes of it having been shown thus far in his career despite his ranking within the top 8% for progressive passes per 90 when compared to other midfielders across Europe.
Perhaps a switch to north London could see him truly look to Dembele as the benchmark, emulating the stylish flair that made him much more than your average defensive midfielder.