ACE DEMBELE IS OUR DIEGO
Mousa ‘a genius like Maradona’
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MAURICIO POCHETTINO has told Mousa Dembele he can be Tottenham’s answer to Diego Maradona.
Statistics show the Belgian midfielder, 29, is the best dribbler in the Premier League with an even higher completion rate than Eden Hazard.
Now boss Pochettino has made the staggering claim that Dembele can be as good as Maradona, his former teammate at Argentinian side Newell’s Old Boys.
The former Fulham man arrived at White Hart Lane in 2012 and the Argentine is only disappointed he did not work with him sooner.
Pochettino said: “Mousa Dembele is completely different to two-and-a-half years ago when we arrived here.
Lucky
“He didn’t play too much in his first season, he always had problems, or physical problems.
“I must give all credit to these sports science guys and all the medical staff to create now a Mousa Dembele that is strong and can play.
“I always say, ‘Mousa, in my book, you will be one of my genius players that I have been lucky to meet’.
“Others were Maradona, Ronaldinho, Jay-Jay Okocha and Ivan De La Pena. They were geniuses and so is Mousa Dembele.
“We always told him that if we had taken you at 18 or 19 years old, you would have become one of the best players in the world.”
Tottenham travel to Burnley today which Pochettino accepts will not be easy. But he believes he has toughened his men up physically. He said: “Burnley are a very aggressive team. If you are not ready to fight in every challenge and every action then you will find it tough. So we need to be ready to fight.
“You can play all the nice football and tiki-taka, but in the Premier League sometimes you must fight to win.
“I think I have tried to remind them football is not only when you have the ball. Football is also when you do not have the ball too. To fight, to press, to challenge with your opponent. Not wait and be passive. In training I like to fight with them to show them I am stronger than them.
“Sometimes I lose the challenge because they are physically stronger, but I am more mentally strong!” SPURS have pushed back a decision on whether they will be playing at Wembley next season or the season after until April 30 because of delays in the work now in progress at White Hart Lane.