Tottenham midfielder Mousa Dembele is heading for a likely departure this summer.

Dembele turns 31 in July and after his eighth season in English football, he is interested in trying a new league this summer. There are likely to be fresh offers from China and Serie A for him, with China currently thought to be the likeliest destination.

Belgium international Dembele, signed from Fulham in 2012, has just one year left on his Spurs contract and has not agreed a new deal. As reported by the Daily Mirror this morning, Tottenham would now listen to offers for Dembele this summer. Although they would still want a significant transfer fee for a player they signed for £15m six years ago, a fee that would be easier for a Chinese club to pay than an Italian one.

Mauricio Pochettino remains a huge fan of Dembele, repeatedly hailing him as a “genius” this season and saying he was on a level with Ronaldinho and Diego Maradona as the most talented player he has ever worked with.

After a slow start to the season, Dembele has produced some performances of his usual technical and muscular brilliance, especially in home league wins against Arsenal and Manchester United.

But Dembele has only been fit enough to start 20 of Spurs’ 33 Premier League games this season. He decided with the club that he would know at the end of this year if he was fit enough to play next season, the first in the new White Hart Lane, in Pochettino’s system.

With one month of the season left, Dembele is close to deciding that the physical demands of playing in midfield for Spurs mean that it is time to leave. The prospect of a longer and more lucrative contract in China than he would get from Spurs is also naturally part of his thinking.

Tottenham vs Manchester City - player ratings Show all 22 1 /22 Tottenham vs Manchester City - player ratings Tottenham vs Manchester City - player ratings Hugo Lloris: 6/10 Made a couple of crucial saves but was once again put under lots of pressure and didn’t always look super confident in front of goal. Nowhere to be seen for City’s goal. Getty Images Tottenham vs Manchester City - player ratings Kieran Trippier: 5/10 He was okay in an attacking sense and put in some dangerous crosses but he was the most susceptible for City’s goal and looked uncomfortable in defending for a lot of the evening. Getty Images Tottenham vs Manchester City - player ratings Davinson Sanchez: 6/10 Been really impressive this season but today wasn’t his finest day. I don’t think it’ll be a fine day for most centre backs taking on City, mind you. AP Tottenham vs Manchester City - player ratings Toby Alderweireld: 6/10 Was fine but less composed when not alongside Vertonghen. EPA Tottenham vs Manchester City - player ratings Ben Davies: 5/10 Lost Mahrez for City’s opening goal and didn’t offer too much going forward. Danny Rose to come back in. EPA Tottenham vs Manchester City - player ratings Eric Dier: 5/10 Made some unnecessary fouls as per usual and was bettered by City’s midfielders on the whole during the game. Subbed off after an hour. REUTERS Tottenham vs Manchester City - player ratings Moussa Dembele: 6/10 Was better than his midfield partner and showed his strength at certain times but it’s still hard to play against this relentless City side. EPA Tottenham vs Manchester City - player ratings Moussa Sissoko: 6/10 Has a few positive moments but lacks the composure on the ball in the key areas. AP Tottenham vs Manchester City - player ratings Erik Lamela: 6/10 Like Lucas, looked good in sparks, but lost the ball just far too often, giving it back to Manchester City all too often. Provided the best chance for Spurs with a clever pass, though. AP Tottenham vs Manchester City - player ratings Lucas Moura: 5/10 Showed some decent bursts of pace and looked a threat, like he has for a lot of this season so far, but his dive was rather appalling and he couldn’t find as much space as he has done this year. Getty Images Tottenham vs Manchester City - player ratings Harry Kane: 5/10 Another off night for the English centre forward. Just hasn’t quite got back to his best yet and a really heavy touch in the first half set the tone for his evening. EPA Tottenham vs Manchester City - player ratings Ederson: 8/10 Another fantastic display from the Brazilian as it was his long ball that set Raheem Sterling on his way early in the first half to set up Riyah Mahrez but he also made crucial blocks to stop Harry Kane. PA Tottenham vs Manchester City - player ratings Kyle Walker: 7/10 A good performance for the returning full back. Caught out of position on a few occasions but a generally good showing. AP Tottenham vs Manchester City - player ratings John Stones: 7/10 Strong performance from a player who has had his critics. Getty Images Tottenham vs Manchester City - player ratings Aymeric Laporte: 8/10 Continues to impress at the heart of the City defence, having played every minute so far this season. AFP/Getty Images Tottenham vs Manchester City - player ratings Benjamin Mendy: 6/10 Definitely the most susceptible player in City’s backline. Made a couple of errors but got away with them as Spurs failed to capitalise. Getty Images Tottenham vs Manchester City - player ratings Bernardo Silva: 7/10 Neat and tidy performance again, creating plenty of good moments for City. AFP/Getty Images Tottenham vs Manchester City - player ratings Fernandinho: 8/10 Such a composed and impressive midfielder who allows the fluid attacking to happen in front of him. Getty Images Tottenham vs Manchester City - player ratings David Silva: 7/10 Wasn’t at his majestic best this evening and missed a fantastic opportunity to make it 2-0 in the second half but despite that, still the master at keeping the ball. Getty Images Tottenham vs Manchester City - player ratings Riyad Mahrez - 8/10 Really improving in the blue (or purple) of City, and has put that Liverpool penalty miss behind him. Scored City’s only goal this evening and dedicated to the Leicester chairman, who sadly died in the Saturday night helicopter crash outside the King Power stadium. Getty Images Tottenham vs Manchester City - player ratings Sergio Aguero: 6/10 Aguero missed countless opportunities to put the game to bed but he still led the line efficiently and despite the lack of goals, can be reasonably happy with his performance. EPA Tottenham vs Manchester City - player ratings Raheem Sterling: 8/10 Caused all sorts of problems for Kieran Trippier and set up City’s early goal. Just another good performance from the English winger. PA