Mousa Dembele has rejected a move to Inter Milan, according to the Mail.
The Tottenham midfielder is said to have been the subject of a £20 million offer from Inter. The report doesn’t overtly say Spurs accepted the bid, but it’s likely they did considering Dembele knew enough to turn down a move.
With just 12 months remaining on his current contract, Dembele was expected to move on from Tottenham this summer. He has been heavily linked with a potential transfer to Italy or China in recent months.
Inter emerged as his most likely destination earlier in the summer, but the Belgian had put his future on hold until after the World Cup, where his country reached the semi-finals only to be knocked out by eventual champions France.
As it stands, it looks like Dembele will allow his contract to run down and leave for nothing at the end of the 2018/19 season.
That probably isn’t the outcome Daniel Levy wanted – the Spurs chairman is always keen to get as big a fee as possible for outgoing players, even if they don’t have long remaining on their contracts.
On a positive note, Dembele staying means Tottenham’s lack of recruitment isn’t a huge issue for now, at least in central midfield.