Just What Does Moussa Sissoko Add to Tottenham?

As his appearances with Tottenham mounted over the last few weeks, we’re starting to get a clearer picture of what it is Moussa Sissoko will provide for the club.

It’s far from a complete picture. Indeed, it’s close to minuscule: Sissoko’s only completed one full match — September’s 1-0 win over Sunderland — and only earned two other starts besides.

What we can derive for those minutes on the pitch are clues to just how Mauricio Pochettino plans on using the Frenchman going forward.

Let’s start with the raw numbers, all provided by WhoScored.

Over 244 Premier League minutes, Sissoko’s taken seven shots. One of those shots he took were on target, two were blocked and the rest were inaccurate. None resulted in goals.

Sissoko further boasts 99 passes completed at a 78% success rate. Three of those passes resulted in shots being taken by teammates. Again, none of said shots resulted in goals.

Goals and assists weren’t exactly why Sissoko was brought into the side, of course. He scored only 11 in four seasons with Newcastle and set up 18 assists, after all. His real value lies elsewhere.

As we covered extensively in the build-up to Tottenham’s acquisition of the player, Sissoko represents a player type not present in this current squad.

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Where Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli and Érik Lamela all rely on craft and guile, Sissoko often relies on brute force. He’s a runner, physical when he needs to be and always intimidating. He will take on his marker and be confident that he will beat him.

It’s that kind of vertical player that Tottenham visibly lack at times when they are trying to puncture particularly stubborn defenses. Add in Sissoko’s experience will playing as a central midfielder, and the winger adds significant heft to an occasionally featherweight Tottenham forward line.

That’s the theory of Sissoko’s value, at least. In practice — at least so far this season — Sissoko is clearly still feeling out the team. He’s yet to quite reach the heights of his best playing days with Newcastle or his indomitable form with France in this summer’s Euros.

Sunday’s match against Manchester City was his best performance yet, however — and could act as a sign post of what’s to come from the 27-year-old.

No, he didn’t score, and neither was he intricately involved in the feverishly high press Tottenham were praised for after the match. What he did do, however, was visibly stretch play, widening the holes in an already porous City defense and indirectly making his teammates’ jobs easier.

“Stretching” play is something we’ve talked a lot about here at HotspurHQ so far this term. We most often use it to describe one of the ancillary benefits of Heung-min Son and his play on the left wing. Unlike so many of his teammates who prefer to play more narrowly, the South Korean thrives in a wider position. Opposition defenses can’t help but compromise their structural organization to close down Son, thereby leaving space for other Tottenham players to exploit.

Sissoko provided a similar service Sunday, but to a much higher degree. He stayed very wide, pinning back Aleksander Kolarov and demanding that Raheem Sterling often track back to help contain him. Nicolás Otamendi also found himself drifting wider than he might have otherwise liked as well in an attempt to contain the Frenchman.

Next: Are Tottenham the Best Team in the Premier League?

Beyond bottling up two of City’s most dangerous attackers, Sissoko also provided a reliable outlet for passes into City’s third. None of those passes amounted to much: Sissoko recorded no shots and only one key pass in the game. But he kept City on their toes all the same.

Add in accurate crosses, some more aggressive attempts on goal and some more robust pressing and Sissoko’s value could well end up approaching his pricetag. The win over City is the first step in finding out if Sissoko’s capable of such improvement, and Tottenham fans will be anxiously awaiting the results.

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