By signing Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes, Tottenham Hotspur shocked the Premier League.

Never the bride and always the bridesmaid, Spurs threatened to finally join English football's elite when they spent £100m on Tonali and £85m on Fernandes.

This is not usually how the Lilywhites behave. To say they pench pinch would be wrong, but very rarely are they at the table to sign the best players in English football. However, after very nearly being relegated, something had to change.

That said, while it is still early days, Tonali looks more like the new Tanguy Ndombele than he does the new Mousa Dembele. Again, the club's recruitment has been called into question, particularly in attack. They are yet to score a single goal in the league this term.

What made Dembele so special

After signing for Tottenham, Tonali and Fernandes will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of Dembele. The Belgian was a marvel in north London and undoubtedly the finest midfielder to grace the midfield for Spurs in the last decade.

What made him so special? Well, we'll let some of his colleagues do the talking here. Kyle Walker previously went as far as to describe him as "the best dribbler I've ever seen". Eric Dier, meanwhile, claimed that "he's a monster and he's got ballerina feet at the same time."

Arsenal's Jack Wilshere was also a fan, once remarking that the former Spurs midfielder's "dribbling was a joke".

In that regard, he was one of the best the English top-flight had to offer. In 2016/17, Dembele completed 2.6 dribbles per game. For context, only five players completed more; Alexis Sanchez, Wilfried Zaha and Eden Hazard were among them, so he was in fine company.

During his time at Spurs, he played 249 times, scoring ten goals and assisting 11. He was never rampant going forward but he was a remarkable presence in midfield.

However, all good things must come to an end.

Why Spurs replaced Dembele with Ndombele

In the winter of 2019, Dembele left Spurs and headed for Chinese shores. Their replacement arrived the following summer. That player was Ndombele.

Signed for £55m, he was a then-club record addition but it is safe to say he never lived up to the hype.

On paper, he looked like the perfect Dembele replacement. Strong, aggressive, a confident ball-player and technically elegant, the Frenchman looked like another Paul Pogba in the making. This was the exact type of midfielder Spurs needed to bolster the middle of the park.

Sadly, his time in north London was marred by a poor work rate and a poor attitude. Jose Mourinho once outlined that "we [Spurs] had to start with him as a No 10. He didn’t have the discipline, the strength or the stamina to be a midfield player." Damning words indeed.

His time at Spurs was so poor that he was shipped out on loan on three separate occasions, firstly to his former employers Lyon, then to Napoli and Galatasaray. None of those spells saw him rediscover his form and he eventually left on a free transfer in 2024.

Why Spurs are facing an Ndombele repeat

From one of the best midfielders Spurs have ever had to one of the worst signings in their history, it would be safe to say this move did not go well. In fact, it was something of a disaster.

Of course, it is not easy to replace a cult hero. They are icons for a reason; they are incredibly rare players. Dembele is arguably still missed seven years after his departure from White Hart Lane.

Well, in the present day, a similar situation has played out, and it's happening at the top end of the pitch.

In 2024, Tottenham finally said goodbye to Harry Kane. Like Dembele, he's an icon in these parts. In fact, he's more than that; he's a legend. No player has scored more goals (280) than him for Spurs. He's 14 ahead of the great Jimmy Greaves.

Replacing that level of output was going to be impossible. Even so, Dominic Solanke has not been the man they need. It's arguably the biggest downgrade since that Dembele to Ndombele move.

To cut the striker some slack, he did enjoy a productive first campaign in the capital, scoring 16 goals following a mega £65m move from Bournemouth.

The similarities to that Ndombele deal are clear to see. Spurs needed to replace one of the greats and they did so by breaking their transfer record. Therein lies the problem.

Solanke has not been a disaster but his £65m fee now looks obscene for the level of performances seen. Last term, the centre-forward did miss plenty of action through injury but he still only scored six times in 20 outings. That is not the record of a big-money striker.

This term the problems run deeper. The former Chelsea and Liverpool man did find the net against Charlton but like the rest of his colleagues, he is yet to score in the Premier League this season. His performance on Saturday against Everton was indicative of the downgrade they have found.

Solanke played just 63 minutes. Within that time, he took just 20 touches and only completed 12 passes. While he is happy to drop deep and link the play like Kane, what he then does with possession is incomparable. He didn't manage a key pass or complete a dribble against the Toffees.

Furthermore, to sum up Tottenham's woes in the final third, he did not have a single shot either. For a player who cost as much as he did, the number of times he goes missing in games is unacceptable.

The hierarchy did sign Omar Marmoush in the summer and in time, they will hope that he does a better job of replicating Kane's numbers than Solanke has.