Yves Bissouma demonstrated on Sunday afternoon why he is very much going to be at the forefront of Ange Postecoglou’s grand Tottenham plans.
Joining Spurs last summer from Brighton & Hove Albion after wowing in Graham Potter’s exciting team, the Lilywhites never quite saw the best of the Mali international due to a variety of reasons.
While his injury woes in the second part of the campaign didn’t help his cause one bit, Antonio Conte’s tactical demands didn’t either as they restricted Bissouma’s game and stopped him from doing what he does best. At least managing to finish last term on a positive note after impressing in the final three games when Ryan Mason was in charge, Bissouma took his form into pre-season and showed what he’s all about in Postecoglou’s eye-catching Tottenham side..
The 26-year-old left Tottenham fans wanting so much more, with the highly-rated midfielder doing exactly the same in Sunday’s 2-2 draw at Brentford. Starting in midfield alongside Oliver Skipp and James Maddison, Bissouma was a shining light for Tottenham in west London and the player of the match.
Everything went through the classy midfielder and he wanted the ball at every opportunity as he looked to dictate play. Always in control when he was in possession, Bissouma looked like his old self and that was evident through the number of flicks and tricks he pulled off during his 90 minutes on the pitch. It is undoubtedly a sign of things to come from him.
His numbers (via Squawka) in the game were extremely impressive to say the least. Having the most touches of any player at 136, he also came out on top in terms of most passes (112), most duels won (11) and most take-ons completed (seven). He also registered a 92 per cent pass accuracy, made 15 entries into the final third, won possession seven times, made three tackles, two interceptions and two clearances.
The player is just oozing with confidence at present, which is perhaps no surprise at all due to the football Tottenham are now playing and also Postecoglou building him up over the summer in hope of getting the very best out of him once again. Bissouma has a huge huge role to play for Tottenham under the Australian and he could prove to be a decisive factor in where exactly they finish in the Premier League table come May.
It was no surprise to see Postecoglou waxing lyrical to BBC Match of the Day about his player after the game. He said: “[Yves] Bissouma has been outstanding through pre-season and was superb today. We had a lot of the ball and it was important we kept things ticking over.
“Our progression of the ball was really good, we just lacked a cutting edge. It is the stage we are at. We are trying to change the way the team plays and they are taking on a lot of information.”
Bissouma himself also spoke to SPURSPLAY after the draw at the Gtech Community Stadium and opened up on his dominant performance. Although he dazzled in midfield and topped the stats in a number of different areas, the player is solely focused on the team and winning rather than personal accomplishments.
“Everything is about the team, the way we work,” he explained. “Today I just want to say thank you to the coach and my teammates as we worked really hard for that. It’s not just me, but everyone played really good.
“The first important thing for me is not to be man of the match or first, I just want my team to win. That’s my mind. I don’t just play for myself, I play for my team, for Tottenham Hotspur, for my teammates, for everyone.
“If I’m man of the match and we didn’t win, the game for me is not a success. I prefer not to be man of the match but win the game and happy because we got three points and we can look forward to the next game.
“I can say I’m OK but not really happy because we didn’t win, so we’ll see next game. But thank you for this appreciation and I’m going to try to work really hard and me and my teammates to be stronger the next game.”
Not only impressing on the pitch, Bissouma’s attitude and desire to become better, which was very much evident in his post-match interview, will also have been noted by his boss. Very much like a new signing for Tottenham this season due to his lack of minutes and his struggles under Conte last campaign, Postecoglou has a diamond on his hands and he is going to ensure that he shines even brighter for Tottenham over the coming years.
If this is a sign of things to come from Bissouma in the 2023/24 campaign, the £25million the club paid out for his services last June could turn out to be an absolute snip. Conte’s loss is most certainly going to be Postecoglou’s gain.
