Moussa Sissoko Aware of Slow Start to Tottenham Career
Former Newcastle United midfielder, Moussa Sissoko, has acknowledged his slow start to the season after joining Tottenham this past summer.
A £30 million transfer fee for Moussa Sissoko is the most Daniel Levy has spent during Mauricio Pochettino’s two-and-a-half-year managerial stint with Tottenham. But the huge price isn’t the sole reason why the 27-year-old has started off slowly.
Standing in front of Sissoko’s way were “a lot of mishaps”.
It’s a combination of signing late (deadline day), no pre-season, an injury (head/concussion) and a suspension. All of these things have contributed to the French international’s slow start.
But despite that, he has done well enough in nine games (five starts, four substitution appearances), since making his Spurs debut back on September 10th.
“It’s true that there has been a lot of mishaps; my late signing, my lack of preparation for the season, my blow to the head against Middlesbrough, and this suspension,” Sissoko said ahead of France’s match against Sweden on Friday (via Sky Sports).
“When I arrived, I felt that my teammates were aware of the amount of my transfer. I was not just any player, but I ignore all of this.”
“I was not at the top when I signed, but that’s normal. They all worked well this summer while I had a mini-preparation.”
With all of the things that have impeded him, it goes without saying that statistically speaking, the Frenchman isn’t contributing as much as he should. But in actuality he is if you look beyond the numbers.
As a central midfielder-cum-right midfielder, Sissoko isn’t tasked with scoring goals or providing assists. There are other players ahead of him who can do that already.
Instead, Pochettino specifically wanted to sign Moussa Sissoko to do one job and that’s attack defenses head-on. It’s simple enough but not many players have the pace, power and strength — all in one — to do this task on Spurs’ squad except for Mousa Dembélé. And occasionally, Victor Wanyama when he pushes forward.
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Now, spending a fortune for a player who will likely only do one role is a lot of money. It really is. But that is a byproduct of clubs overvaluing their players’ worth in today’s transfer market.
Moussa Sissoko’s value wasshown in two matches, Manchester City and the second meeting against Bayer Leverkusen.
Against Man City, the 27-year-old kept Aleksandar Kolarov from attacking as he maintained his position on the right flank of the pitch. When Spurs would transition to attack, Sisoko served as an outlet to keep possession.
This effectively kept the Citizens pinned in their own half and the high-press to completely overwhelm them throughout the match at White Hart Lane.
Another good showing was against Bayer Levekrusn on November 2nd. Despite a 1-0 loss, the Frenchman was one of Spurs’ more dangerous threats moving forward. While he lost possession of the ball a bit frequently, Sissoko managed to keep Bayer’s backline honest and to defend any threats coming their way.
He didn’t take many shots (only one attempt) and didn’t create any chances for his teammates, but his direct style of play is what Mauricio Pochettino has been looking for.
A slow start wasn’t unexpected considering Moussa Sissoko was signed on deadline day. That said, he won’t make any excuses. He’s already put all of those incidents behind him and is now ready to move on so he can help the team out even more.
“All that now is behind me. I have come out, grown up. All the lights are green.” Sissoko continued.
“Tottenham is the biggest club I have known. You must convince in every game, every training session. But competition never scared me and the coach is correct.”
“It means playing the best players of the moment, for the team, always comes first. If we want to win something late in the season then that is how we can get there.”
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Although Érik Lamela will remain as the starting right midfielder/winger, having Sisoko as a backup is good. While certain incidents have kept the Frenchman from having a better start to his Spurs career, there’s still plenty of time left to turn things around.
Moussa Sissoko brings pace, power and strength, comparable attributes that Mousa Dembélé has. And having another type of player like that on this team as depth is something that Mauricio Pochettino could use when rotating his squad around.