On Wednesday, it was reported by L’Equipe that Moussa Dembélé had been ‘one of the priorities’ set out by José Mourinho to provide backup to Harry Kane.
The French newspaper pushed the idea that Carlos Vinícius, who eventually signed for Tottenham on loan from Benfica with a view to buy, was below the Lyon striker in the Portuguese’s list, but there were differences between what the French side wanted and what Spurs were prepared to offer.
The London club only wanted a loan, but their Ligue 1 counterparts were still in the mindset that they could fully sell either Jeff Reine-Adélaïde, Houssem Aouar or Memphis Depay, hence their dismissal of the idea of a temporary idea.
That being said, it was never explicitly stated an official offer had been made, just what the two clubs’ intentions were at the time, which is why Le10 Sport’s article on Thursday about the situation is a bit strange.
The French website claim ‘Tottenham, in truth, never offered anything for Moussa Dembélé to Lyon this summer, despite L’Equipe talking about an attempt at a loan’.
Odd, to say the least.
Either way, Dembélé ended up staying at the Ligue 1 club, and Spurs got Vinícius.
