Tottenham backed to sign Mousa Dembele 2.0 along with Sandro Tonali, 'They'll get both'
Tottenham Hotspur could be about to send out a serious statement of intent with a deal for Sandro Tonali and another central midfielder.
That is the view of Tottenham expert John Wenham amid news of two separate approaches being made for Tonali.
Tottenham's second bid did not improve on that, meaning Newcastle were always going to knock back that latest approach.
However, the North London outfit are not done there when it comes to signing Tonali.
And word is that another player with Premier League experience could also be joining as part of two big-money deals.
Mateus Fernandes deal not dependent on Sandro Tonali
Mateus Fernandes is another name to have been strongly linked with a move to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The Portugal international was relegated from the Premier League with West Ham last season.
He also went down with Southampton 12 months earlier, but he is clearly doing something right.
Spurs have made their interest in Fernandes known, although some wonder whether it would be as a back-up should the Tonali deal fall through.
But speaking exclusively to Tottenham News, Wenham said he can see both deals being on the cards as he likened Fernandes to former Spurs favourite Mousa Dembele.
"I think it's been made clear that Roberto de Zerbi wants both. He wants Tonali as the kind of sitter in the midfield to dictate the play, pick up the ball from the goalkeeper and start our moves," Wenham said.
"And he wants Fernandes as somebody with the ability to sit deep, but also drive forward with the ball. It's an unusual comparison, but as I've started to watch more videos of Mateus Fernandes, the way he moves with the ball is a bit similar to how Mousa Dembele operated for Tottenham.
"Obviously they're a very different size, physique, aesthetics, I get that, but the way they carry the ball and transition the ball from the deep part of the pitch forward is quite similar to Mousa Dembele's style at Tottenham.
"You see these stats of five goals, five assists and you kind of think he's an attacking midfielder, Fernandes, but the more I've looked into it and the more videos I've watched, I can actually see he starts off very deep in the game and then he brings the ball forward with his ability. I think Tottenham are going to get both.”
The comparison is certainly an interesting one, but what do the numbers say?
Fernandes really could be Tottenham's next Mousa Dembele - the numbers don't lie
As highlighted by FBref data, there are indeed very strong similarities between the two midfielders.
Dembele averaged 0.12 assists per 90 minutes across his 456 career matches, while Fernandes has averaged 0.10 so far.
When adding goals to the equation, Dembele's goals involvement figure stands at 0.23 to Fernandes' 0.18.
The pair average 0.74 and 0.96 shots per 90 respectively, meanwhile, while they intercept the ball 1.06 and 0.91 respectively.
The likeness continues when it comes to tackles won (1.72 vs 1.83) and times fouled (1.60 vs 1.92).
If Spurs can indeed bring in both Tonali and Fernandes, alongside the signings already made, fans really would have plenty to be excited about.