Tottenham’s Most Expensive Player Insisting on Future with Club

Contrary to most everyone’s assumptions, Tottenham midfielder Moussa Sissoko insists his future lies with the north London club.

Tottenham acquired the Frenchman for the princely sum of £30 million on the final day of the summer transfer window. The amount paid surpassed previous records set with Roberto Soldado and Érik Lamela.

Even at the time, it was a deal fraught with doubt. After procrastinating the entirety of the transfer window, Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy uncharacteristically splurged on a player who was never going to be anything more than a backup option to the likes of Lamela, Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen.

That impression only solidified when Sissoko was given minutes on the pitch. He often drifts away from games, unable or unwilling to help carry the water. In 24 appearances and just over 1,000 minutes played in all competitions, the 27-year-old has notched just four assists and no goals.

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To seasoned fans of the Premier League, none of this should come as much of a shock. Though he exploded onto the scene at Newcastle, he quickly receded into barely more than a utility man. Occasional flare ups of quality helped keep him in the rumor mill, but it took Newcastle getting relegated last season for someone to finally make a move.

Tottenham could be forgiven for chasing Sissoko though. His most recent peak came in this past summer’s Euros, where he proved overwhelming on the flank for a France team that reached the final. He looked like the kind of direct, physical player Mauricio Pochettino was anxious to include in a side that occasionally had a blunt tip.

Levy hesitated too long however and bought when Sissoko’s stock was arguably at its highest. Now he and the team are stuck suffering with the inevitable depreciation. There are no mistakes that can’t be unmade when it comes to transfers though– the club simply needs to be willing to leave with a loss. No team is going to repay Tottenham for their troubles, much less provide them with a profit.

Sissoko, however, has other ideas, as he recently told BeIn Sports (as quoted by ESPN):

"“My future is at Tottenham and I’m trying to give my best. I’m trying to learn because I have to get used to a new style of playing in a new team.”"

To be fair, no one is making that claim that adjusting to Pochettino’s style is anything close to easy. Beyond simple physical conditioning, there are questions of positioning, the value of a tactical foul and, perhaps most importantly, chemistry with teammates. It is perhaps too soon to expect any player, much less a player who suffered the turbulence of Newcastle’s last few years, to make that shift in a mere seven months.

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Patience is in short supply in modern football however. With other options available, both on the market and within the club, it would not be a shock if the club shopped Sissoko come summer.