“Once I had calmed down”: Player admits he asked to leave Tottenham in 2017

Follow us on Google Discover

Moussa Sissoko has been speaking to Le Groupe Pro about his time at Tottenham, where he made an interesting revelation.

What’s the story?

Well, the France international signed for Spurs in a £30m move from Newcastle back in 2016, although he very nearly left north London in 2017, less than 12 months after his switch from Tyneside.

Speaking to the FC Nantes podcast, Sissoko said: “Few people know this, but after the first six months, I went to see the chairman and I told him I wanted to leave because my game time was really limited and it wasn’t what I wanted. He spoke to me, told me there’s a need for time to adapt, and once I had calmed down, I asked myself the right questions.”

The Frenchman eventually turned his situation around and went on to make 202 appearances for Tottenham, becoming a key cog in the side which reached the Champions League final under Mauricio Pochettino in 2019.

Sadly, Sissoko was penalised for a handball inside the penalty area almost immediately after kick-off in that showpiece event, before he then joined Watford in the summer of 2021 after fizzling out at Spurs.

Nevertheless, the man who now wears No.17 for FC Nantes deserves credit for sticking to the task at Tottenham after his chat with Daniel Levy, and eventually becoming an important player under Pochettino.

Tottenham could do with a new Moussa Sissoko

Before you shoot down that suggestion, we concede that Tottenham need to find someone with a bit more technical quality than Sissoko, although Antonio Conte could definitely benefit from having a similar player in midfield.

Sissoko was a pure engine for Spurs.

We certainly do not want to reduce his talents to purely physical traits, as he had more than just that, although his stamina, pace and strength were key aspects of his game, as well as his versatility and ball carrying skills.

At the moment, Conte is lacking a midfielder who can surge up the pitch and carry Tottenham forward in seconds.

That was particularly evident in the first-half against Leicester last week, as Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Rodrigo Bentancur were sat too deep.

Unless a solution is found from within, Spurs could potentially address this need in January – in our view at least.