Tottenham’s Moussa Sissoko hasn’t impressed so far, whilst Liverpool’s Sadio Mane has been exceptional.
On deadline day in August, Tottenham Hotspur splashed out a reported £30m (London Evening Standard) to sign Moussa Sissoko from Newcastle before the transfer deadline – and that’s already looking like a mistake.
Sissoko, 27, was disappointing throughout Newcastle’s relegation campaign last season, but an impressive tournament at the European Championships over the summer in his native France convinced Spurs to sign him in the dying embers of the transfer window.
So far, the move hasn’t paid off for Mauricio Pochettino. Sissoko has looked ineffective, failing to register a goal or an assist so far this term, whilst he was also slapped with a three-game ban at the end of last month following an elbow on Bournemouth’s Harry Arter.
Tottenham’s Moussa Sissoko
It’s been a slow start to life at White Hart Lane for Sissoko, and fans have been left wondering whether that £30m could’ve been spent more wisely, even if it will only be paid in £6m instalments over the next five years.
In fact, Tottenham fans have recently been taking to Twitter to suggest that Liverpool’s Sadio Mane would have been a better signing for the club, given that the Reds paid £34m (BBC) to land the Senegal international from Southampton.
Judging by the tweets below, Spurs fans simply can’t believe that Pochettino and Spurs didn’t move for Mane, and instead spent their money on the older and less effective Sissoko.
Tottenham’s Moussa Sissoko
Those fans may well have a point. The stats show that Mane is having almost twice as many touches per game as Sissoko, is completing nearly three times as many dribbles per game, and his goal and assist stats dwarf Sissoko’s, having racked up six goals and two assists in ten games.
Even away from the stats, Mane appeared to be ideal for Spurs. Too often last season – and this season as well – Tottenham have been too one-dimensional, and lacked the pace and direct running to open up defences sitting back against Tottenham’s playmakers.
In fact, what makes this whole idea so much more astonishing, is that Pochettino was quoted by the Liverpool Echo as saying that Tottenham needed a player like Mane in the side, but either didn’t move for him, or couldn’t convince him to join Spurs.
Liverpool’s Sadio Mane celebrates scoring
With Champions League football on offer, Tottenham would surely have had a great chance of landing Mane, and if it came down to chairman Daniel Levy not wanting to spend so much money in a lump sum, preferring to spend £6m a year on an inferior player in Sissoko, then the Spurs supremo has got this one wrong.
So far, Mane has looked like being the player to turn Liverpool from top four hopefuls into legitimate title contenders, and after Tottenham came so close last season, he would have been a real difference make for Pochettino’s side.
Instead, Tottenham have to watch on as Mane contributes every week for Liverpool, and are still waiting for Sissoko to show why he was brought to White Hart Lane.
Would you have liked to see Spurs sign Mane for £34m instead of Sissoko for £30m?
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