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"Tottenham Hotspur are on the verge of signing Montpellier midfielder Benjamin Stambouli, but how does he compare to fellow Frenchman Morgan Schneiderlin?  &amp;nbsp; #482936119 / gettyimages.com  Tottenham Hotspur are close to completing their sixth signing of the summer as Benjamin Stambouli is nearing a switch to White Hart Lane. The Lilywhites have been tracking Southampton midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin for much of the summer, but a deal for Stambouli suggests that the club have conceded defeat in their pursuit of the Saints star. Montpellier revealed that they had agreed a fee with Spurs on their official Twitter account&amp;nbsp;on Friday evening, and the player is expected to complete a medical at Tottenham before the end of the weekend. The 24-year-old defensive midfielder has been at Montpellier since 2004 and has been a part of the first team since 2010. He is a very similar player to Schneiderlin - both Frenchmen are the same age and play a similar style of football in the heart of midfield.    &amp;nbsp; TeamPosAppsGoalsGoal AssistChance CreatedPass Completion (%)Won Tackle / appsAerial Won / appsInterception / appsMins   Benjamin Stambouli Montpellier MF 37 2 1 26 83 2.24 1.16 1.51 3,330  Morgan Schneiderlin Southampton MF 33 2 1 30 89 2.64 1.52 2.06 2,766    The Montpellier man missed just one game last season and played the entire 90 minutes in all of his 37 appearances for the Ligue 1 side, scoring and assisting the same number of goals as Schneiderlin managed in five fewer games. The Saints midfielder thrived under Pochettino last term and was more effective in the centre of midfield than Stambouli in several key areas. He created more chances, had better passing accuracy, and won more headers, interceptions and tackles per appearance.   &amp;nbsp; #454006124 / gettyimages.com  However, Stambouli was not far behind in all areas and under the guidance of Pochettino in the Premier League, he could thrive as part of an already quality Spurs midfield. Schneiderlin would have been one of Pochettino's primary transfer targets this summer, but the Saints have said that the player will not be sold following a summer exodus of stars from St Mary's Stadium. SEE ALSO: Palace looking to sign Spurs defender before Monday's deadline - reportEven if Spurs had reached an agreement with Southampton, they would have had to pay well in excess of &amp;pound;20 million; Stambouli is a much cheaper option who can perform in the same mould as Schneiderlin. Both players are consistent midfield enforcers with impressive technical ability, and although Stambouli is statistically inferior to his compatriot, the chance to play in the Premier League under a manager who seems to get the best out of all his players will surely give the Frenchman a great platform for success.Will Stambouli be a good signing for Spurs?"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2014/08/30/stats-how-does-impending-spurs-arrival-compare-to-schneiderlin/>