Tottenham Hotspur only had to look back at Moussa Sissoko’s contributions over the last two seasons to see he was not worth £30m.
In comments recently published by the BBC, Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino made a surprisingly honest statement about summer signing Moussa Sissoko.
“If you sign a player and you expect something and you do not find what you expect and if another deserves to be involved…why?” the Spurs boss said. “Because we paid money we need to put the player to play?”
But what exactly did Tottenham expect of a player they paid £30million for when the previous few seasons had given them a clear indication?
After all, Sissoko could not help Newcastle United avoid relegation from the Premier League last season, scoring just one goal and setting up eight more in 37 matches.
Eight assists is not a bad return, but when you consider three of those came in a 6-2 victory against Norwich City and two more in a 5-1 win against Tottenham, it quickly paints a picture of a player who is rarely on top form.
He may have impressed against the very side that bought him on deadline day, but by then Newcastle were relegated and the pressure was off, while Tottenham were in free-fall. That is not a match to judge a potential new arrival.
When you take away those two matches, Sissoko scored one and up three in 35 games, so why on earth did Tottenham think it would be wise to spend £30million on him?
The previous campaign was not much better, even if he did score four goals in 34 league games.
With no goals or assists in his first 11 league appearances in 2014/2015, and huge gaps in between his significant contributions thereafter, the warning signs were there.
This is not a £30million player – even if he does have an impressive engine and work rate.
Pochettino speaks about expecting something, but a quick look at the player’s previous record would have shown there was little to expect aside from disappointment.
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