Moussa Dembele has set his sights on plundering more goals at Tottenham next season as he aims to live up to his huge billing from Mauricio Pochettino.
Dembele is a key member of the Spurs team that has been transformed under Pochettino and was integral to their second-place Premier League finish last season as they ripped up club records.
Dembele’s central midfield partnership with Victor Wanyama was instrumental in Tottenham achieving their highest-ever points tally in the competition, just as his alliance with Eric Dier the previous year was integral to the team’s third position.
The Belgium international is frequently hailed by by his Tottenham teammates as well as opponents as the best player in the squad, while Pochettino went even further.
“You all know my feelings – he’s a genius,” said Pochettino of Dembele after his performance and goal against Bournemouth at White Hart Lane last season. “Mousa is capable of everything. He’s one of the most talented players in the world.”
Dembele had ankle surgery in the off-season to address what had been a persistent problem that forced manager Pochettino to ration his game time at the end of last season.
“It’s my birthday soon, I’m 30 and I feel good,” said Dembele to the official Spurs website. “Last season I felt good and it was a great season. Now I want to improve my performances – we all do – and hopefully the team will improve as well.
“It’s a new season and you want to challenge yourself so for me, the last two seasons have been good, but I want to want to improve in certain areas, maybe scoring more goals.
“To do that you have to believe in yourself and work hard. That’s not difficult in this team because you only have players who want to work hard. It’s just a matter of following what everyone does and hopefully I’ll get there.”
A fully fit and motivated Dembele is a huge boost to Spurs ahead of the upcoming campaign as they aim to challenge strongly for the Premier League title.