Tottenham’s Pochettino: Moussa Sissoko Falling Short of Expectations
Moussa Sissoko’s playing time with Tottenham has been reduced ever since his three-match ban ended.
When Moussa Sissoko was not included on Mauricio Pochettino’s seven-man bench against West Ham United and Chelsea, it was a sign that something was wrong with the Tottenham midfielder.
The 27-year-old wasn’t injured but ever since his three-match domestic ban was completed, Sissoko has yet to appear in a Premier League game following his elbowing incident with Harry Arter against Bournemouth on October 22nd.
While he came off the bench in Spurs’ Champions League defeat against AS Monaco, that is only one match out of three since the international break wrapped up a week-and-a-half ago where the Frenchman played.
It appears that his playing time is getting reduced.
One simple explanation for what is going on with the midfielder’s lack of appearances lately is because he has fallen short of expectations according to Mauricio Pochettino.
The Argentine manager has been known to play players if they show that they deserve it. That they are better than the starters or the bench players through hard work.
It’s why Kevin Wimmer was nowhere to be found early in the season and why Cameron Carter-Vickers was being picked ahead of the Austrian international. The young American center-back looked good throughout pre-season.
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That mentality of showing you deserve to be picked if you perform well in training sessions applies to every single player on the squad and Moussa Sissoko is no different.
“Football is not about money,” Pochettino said when asked about Sissoko’s absence (via The Guardian). “It is about players being better, and that they show on the training ground that they are better than another teammate and that they deserve to be involved or not.”
“In my opinion, I need to make the decisions and I believe that the players that started in the game [on Saturday] and the players on the bench deserved to be involved in the game. There’s nothing else to [read into] it.”
You would think that Pochettino is frustrated by the fact that Sissoko hasn’t shown the quality that he himself had expected when Spurs paid a high price to acquire the Frenchman’s services. But that isn’t the case.
Instead, it’s mainly disappointment. Disappointment in the fact that Moussa Sissoko has yet to make an impact in a majority, if not all, of his 10 appearances thus far this season in all competitions.
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“It’s not frustrating for me. It’s about football.” Mauricio Pochettino added.
“We can see in football different things that happen. You sign a player and then you expect something, and you don’t find what you expected … If another deserved to be involved, like maybe [Georges-Kévin] N’Koudou or Josh Onomah, or [Vincent] Janssen, then why not?”
“Just because we pay money [for someone], do they deserve to play? Sissoko needs to work hard and to show in future that he deserves to be on the team.”
While Mauricio Pochettino wants to see Moussa Sissoko work harder to earn his spot on the team, he has been involved in 10 games this year as mentioned above.
Whether it’s due to injuries or players’ forms fluctuating up and down, Sissoko has played 461 minutes since joining on transfer deadline day. That’s a decent amount but it could have been more.
Though, it wouldn’t be surprising if Sissoko continues to see limited opportunities moving forward. He was brought in as depth, not as a starter. The only real issue with him joining Tottenham is of course his transfer fee.
Paying £30 million has hurt this team financially. Because one, Sissoko is an expensive bench player. And two, his wages are rumored to be around £95,000-a-week (wouldn’t be surprised if it is) which means paying Hugo Lloris and Harry Kane what they want isn’t feasible with a tight wage structure in place.
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Overall, Mauricio Pochettino specifically wanted Moussa Sissoko because of what he showed in the European Championship with France on their way to the final. And because of his direct style of play — to move forward and attack.
Time will tell if this move will work out in Spurs’ favor. Whether the north London club got their money’s worth, whether Sissoko produces on the pitch when he’s called upon and whether or not Pochettino will seek expensive players once again in the future.
As of right now, this signing has not paid off. Obviously.