Ryan Sessegnon has a big future ahead of him at Tottenham Hotspur.
His first season has been complicated by injury and a change in manager, but what he has shown already in his young career is remarkable.
Still only 20-year-old, Sessegnon wants to kick on, and show what a unique player he is.
So far in his career there have been a lot of comparisons to Gareth Bale, due to his ability to play at both left-back and left-wing, and score goals from both positions. Joining Bale’s former club Tottenham only heightened the comparisons.
But Sessegnon wants to step out of Bale’s shadow and become a top player in his own right, even though he appreciates the comparisons are a compliment.
In an interview on Tottenham’s website, Sessegnon was asked about which question he ‘always gets asked’ in interviews.
He responded: “It’s ‘How does it feel to be compared to Gareth Bale?’ I get asked that question all the time. Each interview just seems to mention comparisons between me and Gareth Bale for some reason.
“Of course, he is a player that I have looked up to and it’s flattering to be compared to someone like him but at the same time, you want to be your own person.”
Sessegnon is going to find it tough to get away from the similarities, being at Spurs, and he will have to learn to embrace it.
Perhaps the biggest compliment is that Spurs chose to sign him, rather than bring Bale back to the club from Real Madrid.
Sessegnon is the future at Spurs, and the time it took Bale to blossom may actually buy him a little more patience too, if there are any more hiccups with injury, form, or lack of chances under Jose Mourinho.
Over time, Sessegnon will kick on, and his talent will see him rise to the top if he keeps working hard. And then he can write his own chapter, and the next exciting player will eventually become tired of the Ryan Sessegnon comparisons.
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