Message to manager: Tottenham star ‘just as strong’ as rivals but ‘plays much better football’

 

Willem van Hanegem is, as Het Belang van Limburg so rightly put it, a man with an opinion about everything. The former Dutch international is a pundit these days and isn’t afraid of voicing controversial opinions and upsetting people along the way.

In a recent interview Van Hanegem got onto the topic of the Belgium national team, and he reserved praise for Moussa Dembele especially. Tottenham fans know just how good the midfielder is, but sometimes he can be edged out to accommodate others.

Van Hanegem believes this is wrong, and that Belgium should get Dembele into their team, at the expense of others.

“Belgium has such a terrific quality,” Van Hanegem is quoted as saying by Het Belang van Limburg. “Maybe even too much. I really think Dembele is top notch.”

The pundit added that Dembele is “Just as strong as others,” with Het Belang van Limburg taking this as a reference to Axel Witsel and Marouane Fellaini, “but plays much better football.

That sounds a fair evaluation of the Tottenham Hotspur star. Whether Roberto Martinez agrees is what really matters.