da gbg bet： With Kieran Trippier expected to be sidelined through injury and Mauricio Pochettino already admitting his lack of faith in youngster Kyle Walker-Peters, Tottenham face a selection conundrum ahead of their first Premier League clash of the season – a tricky trip to newly-promoted Newcastle United on Sunday.
da blaze casino： The versatile Eric Dier remains the favourite to fill Trippier’s void, but there is a Toon-inspired alternative worth Pochettino’s consideration, especially if he elects to employ a 3-4-3 system utilising wing-backs – former Magpie and current Tottenham flop Moussa Sissoko.
Safe to say, since trading St. James’ Park for White Hart Lane by way of a £30million transfer last summer following a string of impressive performances for France at Euro 2016, Sissoko’s struggled to justify his price-tag.
In fact, as things stand, Tottenham have paid more than £2million per start for the 52-cap international, who clocked up just 1307 minutes in all competitions last season, and £10million per assist in the Premier League. Hardly good value for money, even in the current transfer market.
Amongst the biggest issues has been understanding what Sissoko’s best role actually is, a question that has surrounded him for much of his career; not defensively disciplined enough or consistent enough on the ball to play in deep-lying midfield, lacking the tactical ingenuity and agility to be considered a true winger and devoid of the intelligence in possession required to play the No.10 role.
Sissoko’s always ended up being something in between, a player whose idiosyncratic strengths have been utilised differently from one manager to the next, and consequently always divided opinion.
And yet, that’s exactly why Sissoko could be such an impressive force at right wing-back. Last season showed how versatile that role has become with a whole raft of different players fielded there throughout the Premier League, ranging from a winger-forward in Victor Moses to a central midfielder in Fernandinho. The traits it appears essential to possess, however, are an incredible engine, the power to outmuscle players defensively and punch holes offensively and enough guile to create one or two chances.
The emphasis on the latter attribute is much lesser than a traditional winger, which is why it has proved so successful for players like Moses and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who always struggled to hold down truly offensive roles at top clubs due to inconsistent output. Sissoko falls into that category as well and now finds himself in a similar situation, unable to usurp the likes of Heung-Min Son, Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli from Tottenham’s attacking midfield berth.
Of course, there’s a curious subplot too of Sissoko returning to his own stomping ground, one where he’d relentlessly switch from hero to villain and back again amongst the Tyneside faithful.
At first glance, Sissoko’s Newcastle career was a success; sold for 200% more than the fee the Magpies once paid Toulouse and leaving for a club that has established itself as one of the Premier League’s most feared sides.
But in truth, the Frenchman’s stint at St. James’ Park was filled with debates over his attitude, criticism of his commitment and streaks of inconsistent form. Most Newcastle fans, even ahead of a season in which they’ll have to fight tooth and nail for survival, are glad to see the back of him.
That desire to silence any boo-boys, combined with the fact his Tottenham career is now steadily regressing too, could be what inspires Sissoko to produce the level of performance we know he’s occasionally capable of – the kind of dogged, dynamic display we saw in the Euro 2016 final – against his former club.
No doubt, compared to a player as dependable as Dier, throwing Sissoko into the mix on the first game of the season is a massive risk. But ahead of what looks set to be the closest Premier League title race ever, following a summer in which Tottenham haven’t strengthened in the same way as their divisional rivals and during a game that will pit him against a fantastic tactical mind in Rafa Benitez, that kind of gamble could pay off dividends for the Spurs manager.