Dembele had no intelligence, especially around releasing the ball. I have no idea how Poch coached that into him.
Son and Njie have had exactly the same problem as Dembele and Walker did the year before - hindering injuries. What makes me think they will succeed is principally the record we have from our new data-led scouting. The success of Alli, Dier, Alder and Wimmer etc. gives me faith those two will work out now they have settled and are hopefully injury free.
I disagree with you regarding Dembele. I don’t think his game has changed much at all. He still holds onto the ball, it’s just that Pochettino looks to use that as a strength. Dembele can take the ball even when tightly marked, hardly ever lose it despite this and then dribble it into an attacking position. Dembele then has 4 attacking options to pass to in Eriksen, Alli, Lamela and Kane, all of which offer good movement in front of him. We are therefore often able to transition defense to attack with just two passes – Dier to Dembele, followed by Dembele to one of the attacking 4 and then we're in business running at a backtracking defence, with our fullbacks busting a gut to get forward in support out wide.
Under AVB the game plan was very different. Instead of looking to get it into the forwards quickly, the team instead moved forward slowly as an entire unit, looking to retain possession, force the other team back and hope create a chance through relentless possession around the opposition’s penalty area, hoping to eventually exploit an opposition player being out of position.
It is interesting that you list Alli, Dier, Wimmer and Alderweireld there as successes. I think all of them share two essential attributes, firstly excellent physical strength and secondly a very good first touch, I think those are the two things that are essential to make it in in the PL and in our system specifically.
Looking at this season’s appearances from Son and N’Jie I am not convinced that either player has a particularly good first touch, neither am I convinced that either of them have much in the way of body strength. Perhaps the latter can be developed? and developing this may aid the first touch as just about any footballer can control the ball well when not under pressure, it is how a player can control the ball when under pressure that is key.
Both players could improve and become bona-fide first team players, but equally either/both could be unsuited to our tactics or the PL in general. Either way, if a 7/10/11 player came along who fitted style of play and budget I think Pochettino would consider them and have few qualms about swapping them into the squad.
