Moussa Sissoko: What can he offer Tottenham, and how can Tottenham use him?

A crazy last few hours of August 31^st saw Spurs somehow gazump Everton to the signing of Newcastle’s mercurial midfield powerhouse, Moussa Sissoko, for a club-record fee of £30m. The earlier deals for Marseille’s pacy winger Georges-Kevin Nkoudou and Espanyol’s ‘keeper Pau Lopez (on loan) had seemed inevitable; the last-minute grab of Sissoko not so.

As day turned to evening and annoyance turned to meltdown, pipe dreams of signing playmakers Isco or Ante Coric had vanished. Instead, Tottenham ended up splashing out on a very different kind of midfielder.

Sissoko seemed destined for Everton. The Merseyside club had met Newcastle’s asking price of £30m and the Frenchman was set to fly north for a medical. Although events must have transpired slightly ahead of this, as of 10pm – an hour before the deadline – the Sissoko-Spurs deal simply did not exist.

The news then began to break very quickly. Daniel Levy, reportedly operating under the explicit instructions of manager Mauricio Pochettino, had matched Everton’s offer. From that point, little thought was required on the part of the player. Instantly cutting diplomatic relations with Everton, he was set for London. 58 minutes after the world had assumed him to have joined Everton, Sissoko had tweeted a picture of himself holding up the Lilywhite shirt. At 11.40pm, the club made it official.

The news – as it broke – was greeted with a mixture of excitement, hysteria and despair. Thirty million pounds. A club record fee, dragged up by Everton’s bid, and not remotely performance-incentivised. All of it will be paid. Was this sensible money for a footballer with serious ability, in the current market? Was Sissoko the versatile midfield option Spurs had been lacking? Or had Daniel Levy simply panicked and thrown money at a problem? Was Sissoko’s undoubted talent clouded by a questionable attitude to the point that this transfer represented a huge risk, both financially and to the acclaimed Spurs’ team spirit?

Throughout his time in England, the 27 year-old has been castigated for his inconsistency; accused of only showing up in big matches. He was a sure bet to overpower Chelsea at St. James’ Park or run through Germany at the Stade Velodrome when the world was watching but he could not drive his Newcastle side to, at the very least, Premier League safety. He netted just once in 39 appearances last season, a terrible return for a player of his technical ability. Yet Sissoko has constantly reiterated his belief that he is a Champions League-quality player. Surely this profile does not fit with a high-intensity, high-functioning and uber-motivated Pochettino side. It just does not seem to work; attitude and entitlement entering a setting of grit and humility.

But, as I have hinted, when his ability does shine through, Sissoko is a very talented footballer. I will first discuss his strengths generally; I shall then look at to what extent he fits the Pochettino blueprint. He is an absolute powerhouse. With a burst of acceleration he can power past opponents, creating and exploiting space and committing defenders. He is technically proficient: he can create and pass, and he should score more than he has (11 goals in 118 league matches). He has scored some crackers, but he should be notching up 10 goals a season. Perhaps that can be partly attributed to playing in a woeful Newcastle side, but he has to shoulder a lot of the blame.

The last two paragraphs detail the Sissoko paradox. He has undoubted ability, but can Pochettino bring out the best of him? Will the step up help him, as it seems to be doing Sadio Mane at Liverpool? Does he fit the blueprint? It does come down to the distinction between attitude and ability, again. He has the power, the directness, the drive on the ball. Whether he can find an entire new level of consistency to demonstrate those attributes every week is another matter. The other area of his game that I would throw a question mark over is the defensive aspect. Is he disciplined enough to track back, or can Pochettino quickly drum that into him? It is essential to hold those defensive instincts to be a midfielder under Pochettino, but I am unsure as to whether he comes ready-made with such instincts.

So now let me get specific. Where exactly could Moussa Sissoko fit into a Spurs XI? This is the section I am most looking forward to writing, for it is here where I am beginning to realise how integral a role he could play. I think that three positional/disciplinal options should be explored for him: as a disciplined central midfielder in the 4-2-3-1, as a ‘traditional’ right or left winger in the 4-2-3-1, or as an aggressive central midfielder in a 3-4-3, when in possession. This last one I particularly like the look of.

I shall start with the ‘Sissoko used as a back-up to Mousa Dembele’ theory: one of the two in the centre of midfield. This, of course, would look something like this:

Here, our new man would be expected to undertake the job that Dembele has done so successfully for the past year: controlling the midfield, and controlling the game. I am not sure whether he is up to the task. He is strong and powerful, but I am unsure if he has the discipline and determination to retain or win possession as doggedly as the Belgian does. His passing is definitely adequate, however, and depending on the situation he can burst forward and threaten the goal; he would arguably be more expansive and ambitious than Dembele would. But I am struggling to convince myself that I trust him enough to play such an important role in the team – at least, not immediately. That may just be because Dembele is so good at this role, though.

If I were Pochettino, therefore, I would be looking to ease him in in a position that holds slightly less responsibility, in a freer role further up the pitch. Perhaps as a right-winger, the position in which he flourished so dramatically for France this summer:

I like this because, as Pochettino has alluded to throughout the summer, it would give us a much-needed direct, aggressive option in attacking midfield. Sissoko can beat a man through pace and power, whereas Christian Eriksen and Erik Lamela – and to some extent Dele Alli – prefer to use guile or skill. This option could be crucial when weaker teams shut up shop at White Hart Lane, even if only utilised from the bench. I am convinced that he can and will add more goals to his game when surrounded by better players. Again, the defensive aspect of his game will need to be fine-tuned. He has to track back, and he has to press aggressively; there are no truly ‘free’ roles in Pochettino football. This can be coached into him.

The two formations above have looked at how Sissoko could fit into our current system. Now, I will look at how Spurs could alter their system to pander to his greatest attributes. I am really excited by the prospect of, when in possession, Pochettino using a 3-4-3:

We saw this at Watford away last year, both in and out of possession. It can of course be an adaptation of a 4-2-3-1 too, if Eriksen or Alli drop in; but I like the look of it when Sissoko, Eric Dier and Dembele are all selected. The full-backs can bomb on while there are two-to-three central defenders and three-to-two central midfielders to cover counter-attacks. Dembele can continue to run the game, and the two selected attacking midfielders can exploit the space in the middle of the pitch to link up with Harry Kane. This leaves the new man.

This role could be perfect for his skillset. Sissoko can make bursting runs from deep – either with or without the ball – and supplement the attack from central midfield in a way that I cannot remember Spurs doing in the recent future. He’ll be supported by Dembele and the three centre-backs behind him, and will have two attacking midfielders and Kane to play off, as well as constant options on the flanks. He could be the overloading option necessary to scythe open defences and create scoring opportunities for the extra man. Having a structured XI for the pressing game when out of possession seems to be vital for Spurs; but I would love if we could explore some variety in attack. At the very least, it can be used as a plan B.

 

That is my brief exploration of what Moussa Sissoko could bring to Tottenham Hotspur. A lot of it is conjecture; a lot of it is based on the hope/expectation that Pochettino will be able to create a consistently motivated and driven footballer. I fully hope he can, because the Frenchman has all the attributes to be a Champions League-standard midfielder; once he has found a place in a system, he needs to prove that he is one.