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More key passes than Kane: Nuno may have been too quick to judge Spurs ‘scapegoat’ – Our View

Photo by IAN KINGTON/IKIMAGES/AFP via Getty Images
Photo by IAN KINGTON/IKIMAGES/AFP via Getty Images
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Moussa Sissoko
Photo by Matthew Ashton – AMA/Getty Images

Tottenham Hotspur have had plenty of problems this season, but undoubtedly, their biggest issue at the moment is their midfield.

Nuno Espirito Santo hasn’t been able to settle on a first-choice midfield this season. Oliver Skipp, Dele Alli, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Tanguy Ndombele and Giovani Lo Celso have all played there at various points this season, and none have them have really shone.

Indeed, we all saw the startling images of the space left in the middle of the park when Spurs met Arsenal last month, and that’s been a problem all season long.

Not only are Spurs being overrun in the middle of the park in most games, they’re struggling to get any creativity from their midfield players.

The stats tell you all you need to know. No Tottenham midfielder has registered an assist so far this season, while the midfielder with the most key passes per game is Lo Celso, averaging just one a match.

There’s a lack of energy and a lack of creativity for Spurs at the moment, and the most annoying thing is that they sold a player this summer who perhaps could have solved both of these issues.

Moussa Sissoko was cast aside by Nuno Espirito Santo almost as soon as the Portuguese boss arrived in north London, but his performances for Watford are showing that he may have made a mistake.

Moussa Sissoko
Photo by Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images

Sissoko is averaging more key passes per game than any Spurs midfielder, 1.2, and that’s even a higher tally than last season’s Playmaker Award winner Harry Kane.

Sissoko undoubtedly had his faults, even his own teammate Ben Davies admitted he was a ‘scapegoat’ amongst his fans, but one thing he always provided was a presence in midfield. He was an all-action energetic player, and while he was sometimes more of a headless chicken than a Patrick Vieira-type, Spurs could really do with a player who’s willing to put in the hard yards right now.

Nuno may have been too quick to judge Sissoko and he probably could have been a bit of an asset for the north London club this season.

sissoko
Photo by Joe Prior/Visionhaus/Getty Images