Tottenham Hotspur

John Arne Riise praises "unbelievable" Mousa Dembele

By Darren Plant, Senior Reporter | 08 April 2018

Former teammate John Arne Riise says that Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Mousa Dembele is one of the best players that he played alongside during his career.

John Arne Riise has described Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Mousa Dembele as an "unbelievable" player, having played with the Belgium international at Fulham.

Having previously found himself in and out of Mauricio Pochettino's starting lineup, Dembele is now established in the centre of the park and has now made 25 starts and 11 substitute appearances in all competitions this season.

Riise worked with Dembele at Craven Cottage during the 2011-12 campaign, and the former Norwegian defender says that he was left amazed by some of the things that Dembele produced in training.

The 37-year-old told Goals On Sunday: "He's one of the toughest, strongest players I have played with. He's unbelievable. At Fulham, in training, he did things that no-one had ever seen before.

"He's so in control. His body movement with the ball and his feet are unbelievable. How he doesn't play for Belgium, I don't know, but he has been unbelievable for Tottenham."

Riise has now retired from professional football, having also represented the likes of Monaco, Liverpool and Roma during his career.