Kevin Wimmer says Mousa Dembele is one of the best players of all time, insisting that his former Tottenham teammate could have easily been the best player at a club like Real Madrid in his prime.
One only has to see how Dembele is spoken about by his former Spurs and Belgium teammates to know just how highly rated he was by those who played alongside him.
Tottenham’s decline under Mauricio Pocehttino began when Dembele left the club back in 2019 to move to China, with the Lilywhites struggling to replace him.
Wimmer admitted that the midfielder was one of a kind and that he effortlessly dominated in training on a regular basis, adding that it was easy to play with the silky left-footer.
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Is Dembele one of the most underrated of all time?
The former Spurs centre-back told The Athletic: “I always, always say it — the best player ever. This guy could easily play for Real Madrid in his prime and be one of the best players.
“So much class, never loses the ball, even if he has two or three opponents. He was so strong and technical, and his left foot was good. He was fast.
“He was so important for us and also for me — when he was playing as a No 6 in front of me, you always knew you were safe. Because if there are no options, there’s always the option to play to Mousa.
“In training, when we did four-a-side games and tournaments, when you were playing with Mousa, you knew you were going to win. His team will always win. (Which is) Crazy, because we had so much quality in the team. He made it look so easy and a lot of fun playing football.
“It was impossible to get the ball from him and he was still moving so fast, I don’t know how he did it. Every day. Sometimes players are amazing in training but then the game is different because there’s more pressure, it’s faster. But he was always the same.”
Wimmer also spoke in glowing terms about his former Tottenham boss, Mauricio Pochettino, explaining that the Argentine was meticulous in what he expected during training but also made the sessions fun.
Wimmer said about the current Chelsea boss: “He had a very good mix of being calm and fun in training, but then also being really focused.
“He had his perfect vision of how he wanted to play and then every training he explained it to every player. If you have the ball here, these players have to be there and these are what your options will be.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Dembele was arguably the most press-resistant player in the history of the game as his immense strength, outstanding balance and quick feet, were quite a unique combination, which one does not find in the same footballer.
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