Lee Dixon claims that Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Moussa Sissoko has ‘defied the odds’

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Moussa Sissoko helped Tottenham Hotspur beat Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Wednesday night.

BBC Sports pundit Lee Dixon has claimed that Tottenham midfielder Moussa Sissoko has ‘defied the odds’ because he thought he couldn’t play the new role that was assigned to him by Mauricio Pochettino.

The 29-year-old is a natural winger but he has been deployed to play in the middle of the park by his manager in recent months, including during his side’s 3-0 win over Bourissa Dortmund on Wednesday night in the Champions League.

Sissoko played alongside England international Harry Winks as Spurs produced a masterclass display to take a massive advantage going into the second leg against Dortmund in Germany.

Nonetheless, Dixon was full of praise for Sissoko and the manner in which he has turned his fortunes around this season because he admitted that he has ‘come from nowhere’.

“Sissoko has come from nowhere to play in midfield,” Dixon told BBC Radio 5 Live on 13/02/2019. “He has certainly defied the odds as far as I was concerned when I looked at him. I thought he can’t do that role and he’s been brilliant.”

Sissoko moved to White Hart Lane when Newcastle United were relegated to the Championship in 2016, but for large parts of his time in north London, he struggled to prove his worth.

But during this campaign, since Pochettino moved him to an enforcer-like role in midfield, he has not looked back and become an important player for the team.

Over the course of the season, he has played 29 games in all competitions, starting 25 of those matches in the Premier League, Champions League and League Cup, according to transfermarkt.

That is a stark difference to the number of matches he has started since his move from Newcastle – he has only been named in the starting XI in 38 games in all competitions since that transfer switch – that is not a lot if you bare in mind the number of competitions Pochettino’s side have played in & how deep they have gone in cup competitions.

If you compare that with the way he is going now then it is logical to think that he is set to start more games this term than he has done since joining the club.