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Mousa Dembele

elltrev said:
I do think people can be prone to short-term reactive thinking, and groupthinking. His injuries this year seem to have made it accepted wisdom that he is finished. Even though prior to this season he was regularly starting 20-30 league games for us.

Of course he has had some injury issues for a while, and is no spring chicken, so people may well be proven right! Clearly Poch / Levy didn’t think he was worth paying what he’ll be getting in wages in China, after all.
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Sorry, I was responding to @StephenH comment about Wanyama, not Dembele! :)
 
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A player with a unique skill set that will be impossible to replace directly.

Not sure there was ever a Dembele - what does he do thread, but when at his best there was no one better at protecting the ball even if he looked a different player in the final third as opposed to the middle one. If there was a player I wanted to hold onto the ball by the corner flag in the last minute of a cup final it would be him and I think the players have missed the comfort having the Dembele option gave, especially against the better teams.

I’m sure most here are sad at his unavailability but hopeful that his wages and transfer fee can be put towards an immediate replacement to fill the void he and Wanyama have given us this season.

He’s long been linked with a lucrative move but his growing fitness issues had also made it unlikely we’d offer him a mega deal even with the projected stadium income. He may even be doing us a favour by giving up half a season of not getting paid, so If he gets to make a few quid in China where his body may be able to cope with the less rigorous requirements then that’s a nice bonus for him and who knows, maybe when he retires maybe he can come back and run a few sessions with our new crop of midfielders. I have a feeling his Chinese chapter will go a similar way to Linekers Japanese one.
 
Gutter Boy said:
He's been visibly in decline for several years with that degenerative hip problem. Last season he was a 60 minute player. This season he'd become a 20-30 minute player. I think for a lot of people him getting badly bullied by Pogba in the cup semi-final last season was a big moment of realisation that the end was nigh

I'm disappointed he's chasing the money and not going to a competitive slower paced league like Italy though
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He didn't get bullied by Pogba at all. He just tried to dribble past him in the first half and failed to do so on that one occasion.
 
It feels like a good deal for everyone, but we cant rely on Dier, Sissoko, Wanyama, Winks and Skipp for the rest of the season. We need a replacement in
 
AdamB said:
It feels like a good deal for everyone, but we cant rely on Dier, Sissoko, Wanyama, Winks and Skipp for the rest of the season. We need a replacement in
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It feels as if Wanyama is broken sadly, so it wouldn't surprise me if we're looking to sell this window at which point with him and Dembele both departed we'll look to bring in replacement, if we don't I think we'll carry on as we are and if all stay fit that'll be fine.
 
nayimfromthehalfwayline said:
Only if he is actually fit to play, which this season he is most reliably not.

Keep a player on tens of thousands a week, only to use him 20 minutes here or there - or get £11m to reinvest into the squad and maybe get a player that will really make a difference?

Its a no-brainer for me.

And Id say the same of Wanyama. The key, as always, is what you end up with rather than what you lose.
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Proved us both right to an extent tonight

We needed Dembele to come on to firm it up, but he’s injured.
 
Really difficult one, as Demble could be a game changer in a couple of key games and make a difference. Help with chelsea away, in the final coming on as a sub, in a couple of league games etc etc. But he's never going to play a full season, his contracts up and 11m towards a new midfielder makes perfect sense. If we can bring someone in, or if Wanyama is on his way back, then we have to sell (sadly). Will be sad to see one this current team depart. On Wanyama - don't write him off just yet...
 
Gutter Boy said:
Do you not think Winks and (then at the very end) Skipp did an excellent job?
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No, Winks couldn’t make a tackle after he was booked - he got caught the wrong side of the player a few times but the booking lead meant he couldn’t tactical foul.

Skipp was on for barely 5 minutes.
 
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