Tottenham Hotspur hero Graham Roberts claims that the club have never managed to replace Mousa Dembele.
The 33-year-old joined Chinese club Guangzhou City in 2019 but his contract expires at the end of the season.
He has made 41 appearances in total for the club, scoring once and laying on four assists in total.
Did Spurs make a mistake by selling Mousa Dembele in 2019?
Yes, should have stayed
No, he had to go
Dembele’s spell in China came after a seven-year spell in north London, in which he made 249 appearances and became the lynchpin of the club’s midfield.
Spurs have struggled to find a player with a similar level of control in the centre of the pitch since his departure, and Roberts has criticised the fact that the club’s recruitment staff have been unable to find a natural successor for the former Belgium international.
Speaking exclusively to This Is Futbol, the UEFA Cup winner said: “We had Dembele. Mousa Dembele. We didn’t replace him.
“He was the kingpin of the midfield and he used to get hold of that ball and nobody could get the ball off him. He was brilliant. We let him go, we never replaced him.”
Dembele did not manage to win a trophy during his spell at Spurs but he was a key player, especially during Mauricio Pochettino’s spell in charge of the club, in which he made 166 appearances.