Tottenham Hotspur are interested in a deal to bring Boubacar Kamara to the Premier League in the summer transfer window.
What’s the talk?
That’s according to a report from Spain (via Sport Witness), which claims that the Olympique de Marseille defensive midfielder is a player who both Antonio Conte and Fabio Paratici are keen on, particularly as the 22-year-old looks set to become available on a free transfer upon the expiry of his current contract at the Orange Velodrome this summer.
The report goes on to state that the former France U21 international is one of several targets Paratici is hoping to bring to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the off-season, with Spurs said to have a “sporting project and the economic solvency” to attract the midfielder to north London – despite the interest of Atletico Madrid, Juventus and Bayern Munich.
The new Mousa Dembele
While it is true that, following the £21.5m signing of Rodrigo Bentancur in January, Conte boasts a decent number of options in the middle of the park – as, alongside the Uruguay international, the 52-year-old can also call upon Oliver Skipp, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Harry Winks – it is nevertheless clear to see why the Italian would be interested in a move for Kamara this summer.
Indeed, the 22-year-old has highly impressed over his 28 Ligue 1 appearances this season, with the £22.5m-rated defensive midfielder having made an average of 1.3 interceptions, two tackles, 1.2 clearances and won 4.6 duels – at a success rate of 54% – per game.
Do you think Kamara could go on to become the new Dembele?
The £46k-per-week Frenchman is also extremely comfortable with the ball at his feet, enjoying an average of 80.5 touches per fixture, in addition to completing 61.1 passes, 3.1 longs balls, 0.5 dribbles, 0.8 key passes and 3.6 chipped through balls per outing.
These returns have seen the player who scoutedfootball described as “a ball-winner in multiple forms – a presser, dueller and interceptor” and Rolando claimed is “going to be a great” average an extremely impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.10, ranking him as OM’s second-best player in the French top flight.
And, looking at his metrics from the current campaign, there would appear to be very clear comparisons between the 22-year-old and one of Tottenham’s former defensive midfielders – Mousa Dembele.
Indeed, over Dembele’s 29 Premier League appearances back in 2015/16 – arguably his best campaign for Spurs – the Belgium international made an average of 1.9 interceptions, 3.6 tackles, 1.1 clearances and won 8.6 duels – at a success rate of 61% – per game.
The 34-year-old was also equally adept while in possession, enjoying an average of 64.8 touches per fixture, as well as completing 42.8 passes, 1.4 long balls, 2.9 dribbles and one key pass per appearance – with these returns seeing the midfielder average a rather sensational SofaScore match rating of 7.41.
As such, it is clear for all to see that the 22-year-old shares a great many traits with the former Spurs star, leading us to believe that, should Conte be successful in his attempts to land the former French youth international this summer, the Italian could well have unearthed the club’s new Dembele – something that will be an incredibly exciting thought for supporters of the Lilywhites.
AND in other news: Paratici can land his next Bentancur as Spurs eye £21m talent whose “tempo is perfect”
