Tottenham Midfielder Mousa Dembele Reportedly Turns Down Move to Serie A Giants Inter
As he enters the final year of his contract, Tottenham's Belgian midfielder Mousa Dembele has rejected a move to Inter, insisting he will evaluate his options when he returns from the World Cup.
The Sun are reporting that Inter were one of the first teams to register an interest in Dembele, but the 30-year-old has rejected their proposal as he searches for a better offer.
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Other clubs are expected to move for Dembele following Belgium's final World Cup match against England, meaning Dembele may have a lot of options to choose from.
However, he is also believed to be prepared to reject the offers and wait until his contract has expired, in order to secure the best possible deal for himself.
Manager Mauricio Pochettino is open to offers for Dembele, but will not only entertain significant offers for the midfielder. If no club offers an acceptable proposal, Dembele is willing to wait until he is a free agent, meaning clubs would not need to pay a transfer fee and could therefore offer Dembele a higher salary.
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The Sun have previously reported that Dembele is not willing to play for another English team, and has therefore taken advice from his Belgian teammates about playing in a different country.
The Belgian squad has representatives from multiple leagues around the world. Axel Witsel currently plays for Tianjin Quanjian in China, and defender Laurent Ciman currently plays in the MLS. Both are believed to have discussed moves with Dembele.
Dembele is a popular figure amongst Tottenham fans, but has fallen down the pecking order in recent years at White Hart Line. After joining from Fulham in 2012, Dembele has made 236 appearances for Tottenham, including 39 outings last season.
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However, he completed 90 minutes in less than half of these matches as Pochettino has frequently opted for Tottenham's younger players, such as Eric Dier.
Dembele also found himself as a substitute for the majority of Belgium's World Cup clashes. He made four appearances during the tournament, completing 90 minutes only once.
